The Final Bow
by undecidedlycertain
Summary: AU:KS CH. 12 UP, ALL NEW! Kagome gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she's chosen to star in an upcomming film, the only prob., the producer is a real jerk. When strange things start happening on set who will protect the young starlet from the arising
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer; all standard disclaimers apply, I don't own any of the characters, or People magazine, or the country of Eukapotamia, but the plot is all mine! Muwahahahaha!

Title; The final bow

Summary; AU/ Kagome gets the chance of a life time when she is chosen to be the leading lady in the new upcoming film 'When Empires Falls '. The only problem, the producer is a real jerk, but when strange things start happening on set, who will protect the young starlet from the arising danger, and why is she so drawn to the one man who seems bent on making her life miserable. Kag/Sess.

The Final Bow

By; Undecidedly Certain

Chapter One

The audition

It was a pleasant enough day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Yuka was squealing like a banshee over the latest issue of 'People' magazine.

Ok, well maybe that last one wasn't so great, but she is a friend regardless, Kagome reminded herself as the squealing upped a notch. They were sitting at one of the outside tables in front of Yashimoto's Ice Cream Parlor enjoying the sun and the freedom that comes with summer break.

Both girls attended Tokyo University, and both girls had just yesterday finished final exams to end the last semester of their sophomore year.

Two down, two to go, Kagome thought wistfully, only half listening to what her friend was going on about. Her mind was else where, as always. She really did need to get a handle on her daydreaming.

"OH! OH! Look! Look!" Yuka howled in a nearly inhuman pitch while shoving said magazine in Kagome's unsuspecting face.

Huffing in annoyance, Kagome gathered the magazine from the clearly over caffeinated girl. Who ever came up with the idea for mixing coffee and ice cream should be dragged out into the street and shot.

"Yuka, you're going to make me cross-eyed."

Yuka stuck her tongue out and settled back in her white wicker chair and sighed dreamily. "Isn't he just the hottest thing you've ever seen?"

Kagome could only assume she was referring to the picture of the young man that was ever so rudely shoved in her face. She examined the picture with a critical eye, Yuka's ideas on what was 'hot' greatly differed with her own.

She had to admit, he was handsome in a very clean cut and business-like way. Short platinum blond hair graced his head in a controlled unruly fashion that accentuated his pale but flawless skin.

He was leaning languidly against a tall stool, his long legs gracefully extended before him and crossed at the ankle. His arms were crossed over his chest in what was obviously a practiced pose, showing off the expensive black silk dress shirt he was wearing with a pair of well coordinated charcoal slacks.

Even through the picture he seemed to exude an air of confidence, or perhaps it was arrogance. His facial express, his body language, every thing about him reminded Kagome expressly of a stereotypical runway model; snotty and egotistical. His soft mouth was stretched into an impassive line, smooth and firm.

His eyes, while the most beautiful shade of honey she had ever seen, were cold and commanding.

He was definitely attractive, that she could not deny, but he just didn't look like a very friendly person.

"He's …cute." Kagome finally conceded, handing the magazine back to her friend in favor of perusing her strawberry milkshake once more.

"Cute?" Yuka repeated flatly, looking totally affronted. "Cute! Kagome, puppies are cute, fluffy pink bunny slippers are cute, Sesshoumaru Takishima is a sex god, placed on this earth for the sole purpose of fueling the fantasies of young women such as our selves."

Kagome had to try really hard not to laugh at her friends over zealous proclamation. Yuka did have tendency to go all 'drama queen' on her at times.

"Sex god? Yuka, honestly, don't' you think that's a bit much?"

"Blasphemy!" Yuka shrieked covering one of her ears from the verbal assault with one hand and putting the other to her forehead as if she would faint.

"Yuka!" Kagome hissed in warning, a faint blush staining her cheeks. "People are staring." Kagome sunk down in her chair as much as possible with out completely sliding out of it and under the table. If there had been a table cloth she might have considered it, but as it was she would only look stupid…er.

"Oh, sorry." Yuka said waving a placating hand at her audience, completely unfazed by the attention, and settled back into her chair as well.

"hmm…Takishima…" Kagome pondered while idly twirling her straw between her fingers. "Why does that that sound so familiar? Isn't he an actor?"

"An actor, director, producer…" She paused to take a sip of her coke. "…and one of 'People' magazine's top ten most eligible bachelors. His father is the Inutaisho Takishima who owns White Dog movie studios. Sesshoumaru Takishima has been in movies since before he could walk and has won awards for both his acting and directing. He went to Sarisake Private high school and then studied abroad in England for two years. His favorite color is white, favorite food is filet mignon, his birthday is November 12th, and most importantly he is 24, single, and sexy as sin."

"Spoken like a true stalker." Kagome laughed lightly at the way her friend could rattle off facts of the mans life, a true testament to Yuka's gossip addiction. " And does he wear boxers or briefs?" Kagome teased lightly while trying to scrape the last of her milkshake from the bottom of her cup.

"Mmmmmm." Yuka groaned like she was visualizing a German chocolate cake instead of underwear. " Boxers, but…." She added with a devilish grin, "he sleeps naked as the day he was born."

"Oh, Yuka," Kagome sighed. She was starting to worry about how her friend had obtained such personal information on the poor celebrity. Yuka could be a little, well… how's the best way to put it…enthusiastic when it came to perusing men.

"Oh, can't you just imagine that toned body, all buff and wrapped up in silk sheets like a Christmas present!" She sighed dreamily.

"Yuka," Kagome began sternly, "you haven't been going through his garbage have you? Please tell me you didn't get slapped with another restraining order."

"No, of course not." She retorted defensively. "I just happen to be an avid reader."

"I see." Was Kagome's noncommittal response.

"You don't believe me do you?" Yuka asked from over the top of her magazine, a small pout marring her features.

"Well, your track record is against you."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, there was the time you had that crush on that American news anchor man, Tom Brockaw or what ever his name was. You sent him a letter confessing your undying love every single day for an entire year."

"Uhhhh…"

"Or the time you turned you bedroom closet into a shrine for that boy band you were so into in high school. I swear, that was creepy. I still can't figure out how you got that lock of hair."

"Ok, ok, so maybe I was a little… extreme in the past, but I swear, this time I'm not stalking, harassing, or doing anything illegal or questionable, on my honor."

"Yuka, your honor is questionable in itself." Kagome giggled at her friends increasingly flustered state. It took a lot to get to her, but it always embarrassed her to bring up the 'Brockaw incident' as it was now called.

"Listen here." Yuka huffed defensively as she began reading from the article corresponding with the picture of young master Takishima.

"At 24, Sesshoumaru Takishima has achieved more in his career than most twice his age. Takishima is about to open a new frontier in the fall when he begins filming a new movie entitled 'When empires fall' which he wrote himself and will be producing. The film is being said to be an adventure of epic proportions with elements of romance and the supernatural to augment its spectacular plot. It has even been rumored that the leading role will be played by none other than Naraku Himura, son of the critically acclaimed Onigumo Himura. It has not yet been released who will be our leading lady for the greatly anticipated hit, but rumors of Kagura Cain laying her claim to the part have been rampant. Only time will tell. Takishima will be holding open auditions on may 23rd for bit parts and extras at White Dog Studios from eight am until five…

Kagome! WE HAVE TO GO! It would be so cool to be in a movie!"

"OH, I don't know Yuka. I really need to get a job this summer to help mama."

"Kagomeeee!" Yuka whined, sounding not unlike a five year old trying to stay up after bed time. "You get paid ya know, even just as an extra. They probably wouldn't even need us until shooting begins in the fall! Oh, come on Kags. Please!"

Kagome worried her lower lip between her teeth, a nervous habit she had developed over the years.

Truth be told, she agreed with Yuka, it would be exciting to be in a movie. Even just as an extra, but Kagome didn't have much acting experience, just a couple of high school plays that were more embarrassing than anything else.

What if she made a total fool of herself?

It seemed, she realized suddenly, that she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Yuka was already pulling her out of her chair by the hand and dragging her down the street.

"Wait! I don't know how to act Yuka, what if I make a fool of myself…"

"Oh, don't be silly." Yuka said off handedly. "You took drama in high school. Besides, extras don't' usually have lines anyway. We'd probably just have to walk down a street in costume or something like that." She threw her hand up to hail a cab.

"No lines?" Kagome reiterated.

"Nope, probably not." Yuka said shoving into the back of the taxi before climbing in behind her.

"To White Dog Studios, and step on it!" Yuka hollered up to the driver, beating on the back of the seat for emphasis.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

By the time the cab pulled up in front of the studio Kagome was having serious second thoughts. Butterfly's were starting to form in her stomach, giving her a weird, slightly nauseous feeling.

She didn't know why she was feeling so nervous. They were just signing up to be extras, right? Right?

Then why did she have such a strange feeling of foreboding wrapping around her like a noose.

"Yuka, maybe this isn't such a good idea…" She began nervously nibbling at her thumbnail, another nervous habit of hers.

"Don't be ridiculous, this is going to be fun." Yuka quipped tossing a few wrinkled bills up to the driver. "Now lets go sign up for our 15 minutes of fame."

"I'm still not sure about all this." Kagome whined, desperately grappling at the back seat as Yuka tried to pry her out by her belt loops.

"Oh…(Tug)…Come on…(Tug)…Kagome." Yuka panted while alternately yanking at the back of her jeans. "What ever happened to Higurashi the fearless?"

"Higurashi the fearless?" Kagome sent a speculative look over her shoulder at her friend.

It was just the distraction Yuka had been waiting for as she gave one last mighty tug sending both girls sprawling to the sidewalk.

"OUCH! Geeze Yuka are you trying to kill me?" Kagome grumped as she stood up, brushed her self off, and straightened her disheveled clothing.

"You'll thank me when you're watching your face on the big screen." Yuka jibed, spreading her hands out before her for emphasis. She laughed at Kagome's goaded look while dragging her friend toward the gate.

After getting by security with explicit instructions to proceed to Studio C for auditions, Kagome found herself being unceremoniously frog marched through the lot, getting a lot of strange looks from passers by.

Studio C was easily discernable amongst the rows of metal movie magic warehouses. It was the one with throngs of young people lined up outside, roughly 90 of whom were giggling females, there hoping to get a glimpse of the famed Takishima himself no doubt.

Kagome had to forcefully stop her self form rolling her eyes at the whole ordeal.

Really, all this trouble for the chance, not even the guarantee, to get a look at a decent looking guy.

Ok, so maybe that was a bit of an understatement.

Kagome and Yuka joined the queue of shrieking shrews at the back of the line, nervousness all but forgotten as she got a good look at the craziness around her.

This was going to take forever, Kagome sighed shifting her weight uncomfortably. What a waste of a perfectly good Saturday afternoon.

An older gentleman was making his way down the line handing out sheets of paper and pens. He looked to be in his mid 60's with terribly thin gray hair, the greasy strands were swept over his forehead in a pitiful attempt to cover his bald spot. Kagome had to suppress a shiver, comb-overs were the worst.

The portly fellow seemed to be trying his best to ignore the squealing females he was catering to. Kagome giggled lightly as he approached them, the soft tinkling of her laughter caught his attention over the abhorred squawking of the pack of rabid fan girls.

When their eyes met he started a bit, but said nothing.

Kagome smiled nervously, wondering what on earth she had done to warrant such an intense look from a perfect stranger. It was very unnerving.

Maybe he was a pervert! Ewww, gross. An old pervert.

Just as she was beginning to fidget under the man's gaze, Yuka unwittingly came to her rescue.

"Is Sesshoumaru Takishima here today?" She squealed at the old man pushing Kagome out of his line of sight, and while she was grateful for the distraction, she didn't really appreciate the elbow to the gut.

"Mr. Takishima is in closed auditions all day." The old man rattled off in such a well practiced manner that Kagome wouldn't be surprised if he'd been saying it all day. He quickly scurried on down the line and away from the clutches of the obviously disgruntled Yuka.

"Well that sucks." Yuka pouted at the retreating bald head.

"You know what else sucks." Kagome griped, shooting her friend a dirty look. "Attempted disembowelment with a blunt, bony object, but that didn't stop you from doing it to me."

"Oh, don't' be such a baby." Yuka admonished with an overindulgent eye roll. "Turn around."

It was Kagome's turn to roll her eyes, but complied none the less. "You know, I don't know why I let you drag me into things like this," She grumbled as Yuka pushed her forward in a half bow and slapped her form on her back. "And now I've been reduced to being used as a writing surface."

"You like it and you know it." Yuka chortled as her pen flew across her paper tickling Kagome's back. "Someone has to save you from the hum-drum monotony that your life has become lately."

"Whatever."

"Ok, your turn." Yuka said turning so Kagome could use her back as well.

Kagome settled the form on her friends back and began to fill it out half heartedly.

Name; Kagome Higurashi

Age; 20

Sex; female

Address; 22 West Haven way

Apartment 3B

Tokyo

Phone; 555-6724

Background;

'Background?' Kagome gnawed at the end of her pen in contemplation.

"Hurry up Kags, I'm getting a cramp here." Yuka whined.

"Ha! That's what you get for elbowing me in the stomach."

"Just hurry up."

"Ok, ok, I'm going."

Background; grew up on at sunset shrine in Tokyo, 15 years of dance experience, some high school drama.

Occupation; Second year nursing student at Tokyo University.

"Alright, I'm done." Kagome chirped quirking a brow at her friend who was making a big show of stretching her back like an old man with arthritis.

"God Kagome, could you have gone any slower?"

Kagome snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "Drama queen."

"Kagome? Yuka?" She heard someone call out over the din of chatter boxes.

"Aumi?" Yuka asked rising up on her tip toes looking at the dark curly head making its way through the crowd.

"Hi guys! I didn't know you were coming!" Aumi said excitedly.

"Neither did we." Kagome responded dryly. Yuka shot her a glare and popped her in the back of the head.

"Don't mind miss spoil sport here." Yuka chided happily as Kagome's mouth worked in silent indignation.

The two girls started chatting avidly about the injustice of life, mainly concerning the absence of a certain platinum headed 'sex god', it took all of the will power Kagome had to not start ripping her own hair out.

Kagome found the entire conversation unbelievably boring. As a general rule she chose not to hero worship someone based on their looks and the size of their wallet. In all honesty, Sesshoumaru Takishima was probably just some spoiled rich jerk living off his daddy's success.

Not really considered respectable in her book.

Well, ok, so the guy could act. She'd seen a couple of his movies, but she'd also heard the horror stories about his attitude. So he was a talented, spoiled, rich jerk living off his daddy's success.

So caught up in her own thoughts was she, that she didn't realize her friends were speaking to her until Yuka waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hello? Earth to Kagome."

"Are you Ok?" Aumi asked with genuine concern written clearly across her face.

"Huh? Yeah, sorry. Just zoned out for a minute there."

"You aren't nervous are you?" Yuka teased.

"No!" Kagome spouted indignantly. Ok, so maybe it was a lie, she was a little nervous.

"I think I'm going to go find a bathroom." She excused herself from her friends.

"Ok, but hurry back." Yuka called after her.

"We'll hold your place in line Kagome." Aumi added sweetly.

She didn't really have to go to the bathroom and Kagome almost felt bad for lying to them, that is until she heard the topic of their next conversation; the supple perfection of Sesshoumaru's posterior versus the buff bod of Naraku Himura. I swear, you'd think they just hit puberty.

The lot was much bigger than she'd first thought and it didn't take Kagome long to get hopelessly lost.

"Great." She huffed turning around from yet another dead ended alley. 'They really should have a map posted somewhere, or a directory like the one at the mall.' She thought bleakly. The place was like a maze.

A faint whimpering caught her ear just as she was about to round yet another corner. Turning sharply toward the source of the noise, Kagome found only a stack of discarded wooden pallets.

She shrugged her shoulders in dismissal and started to head on when she heard it again. Walking around the stack of pallets, Kagome was shocked to find an adorable little girl curled up on the ground sniffling pitifully.

She couldn't have been older than six, her dark russet hair was pulled up in a pony tail that stuck off her head at an awkward angle. It was quite obvious that she'd styled it herself.

Kagome kneeled down in front of the child, gently reaching a hand to rest softly on her shoulder. The little girl jumped at the unexpected contact, but threw herself into a very startled Kagome's arms as soon as she saw her smile.

Kagome was shocked at first, the child nearly knocked her over backwards with the force of the blow, but quickly shifted into protective maternal mode.

"Shhh." She cooed, gathering the crying girl into her arms. "Its ok sweetie. What are you doing out here all alone?"

The little girl sniffed loudly and wiped her nose on the shoulder of Kagome's shirt causing the older girl to grimace slightly. It never ceases to amaze her, the way kids tend to confuse clothing and handkerchiefs.

"Papa Sess told Rin to stay with Jaken, but he is old and grumpy so Rin tried to find papa Sess and got lost." All this was said within the span of one breath, an amazing feat for such a small child. She must have incredible lung capacity.

Kagome patted the child comfortingly on the back as her whimpers subsided. "Its ok now, I'll help you find your daddy."

"Really?" She asked, looking up at her with the biggest weepy brown eyes Kagome had ever seen.

Her heart turned to goo. The kid could have asked for a pony at that point and come hell or high water Kagome would have found her a pony.

"Really." Kagome said confidently, pleased at the grin it brought to the girls face. She was missing a tooth right in front, making her completely irresistible.

Boy was she gonna give someone a piece of her mind when she found out what fool left a helpless child to wander around a movie lot on her own. It was confusing enough for an adult, let alone a child. Not to mention that someone could have snatched her up.

"I'm Kagome." Kagome introduced herself setting the girl back on her feet and taking her chubby little hand into her own.

Rin's little bunny nose wrinkled in concentration as she tried to remember what she was supposed to say. "It is very nice to meet you Miss Kagome." She finally managed to get out in a practiced formality. Kagome had to swallow her giggles, but at least someone was trying to teach the child manners.

"Rin's name is Rin." She concluded flashing her million dollar gap-toothed grin.

Kagome really did giggle that time, the child was really something. "So I gathered." She smiled at her. "So Rin, do you know where your daddy is supposed to be?"

"Nope." Rin smiled even brighter. "Papa Sess had to work, that's why Rin was supposed to stay with Jaken."

Oh boy. This should be fun. Maybe they could find a security officer, whoever her father was he obviously works here so maybe they could direct her.

Oh well, Rin was much better company than Aumi and Yuka anyways. Who wanted to listen to them fawning over a man they'd likely never meet.

They walked for a while, Rin telling about how much she liked flowers, and how she wanted to have a puppy, but her father wouldn't let her. The child was delightful and never seemed to run out of things to say.

She reminded Kagome very much of herself when she was younger. Rin seemed like the kind of child who could spread joy to everyone around her just by walking into a room.

Kagome couldn't help the ache that formed in her heart. She wanted a family of her own one day, but she couldn't even seem to get a boy friend let alone a husband. It wasn't for lack of interest though, she had plenty of guys ask her out. It's just that they all seemed to be ….lacking something. Her friends called her picky, but she didn't think it was that because she didn't even really know what she was looking for in a guy.

She figured she would know when she found the right one. Isn't that supposed to be the way it goes. Catching each others eyes across a crowded room and all that romantic crap.

Well, she thought dismally, there's always the sperm bank.

Wouldn't mom be proud.

Just as they were turning another corner, a young man with black hair gathered into a small pony tail at the nape of his neck caught her eye as he was walking into a large studio warehouse.

He immediately stopped dead in his tracks, hand still on the door knob. He did a double take, staring intently at her face with an odd look of recognition.

'Ok,' Kagome thought irately, 'that's the second strange look I've gotten today. Do I have a booger or something?'

She self-consciously raised her hand to swipe at her nose, breaking into a grin when the man copied her actions a moment later. He must have thought she was signaling that he had a booger.

She giggled when he realized he was all clear and dropped his hand back to his side. His face broke into a charming grin and Kagome couldn't help but notice that he was a fairly handsome fellow. She stood there admiring his deep brown eyes, and tanned complexion, that is of course until his gaze lowered to very inappropriate places.

Blushing furiously, Kagome crossed her arms over her chest in a protective manner. She realized she still had her sign up sheet clutched in her hand as he snapped out of his ogling.

"Excuse me," She said a lot nicer than she should have after being visually accosted in such a manner, "Perhaps you can help me?"

An impish grin formed on his face as he stepped forward. "It would be my honor to assist such a beautiful young woman." He purred in his silky tones giving her a sly wink. "Are you here to audition?" He asked eyeing the paper in her hand.

"Oh," She started, looking to the paper as well. "I was," she began before reaching behind her to guide Rin to stand in front. "but I got a little side tracked."

The young man looked slightly startled at the sight of the small girl. "Rin?" He asked incredulously.

"Oh good." Kagome beamed.

He couldn't help but stare at her, she was gorgeous, and she bore and eerie resemblance to…

"you know Rin?" Kagome continued, oblivious to the mans appreciative stare. He nodded. "Then you must know where we can find her father. I'm Kagome by the way." She offered her hand.

"Miroku." He said graciously taking her hand with in both of his own. "You truly are a beautiful young woman. Would you do me the honor of baring my child?"

Kagome's smile ran off her face like water. "WHAT!" She screeched covering Rin's ears with her hands. "You pervert!"

Miroku just grinned at her. "Can you blame a guy for trying?" He asked innocently.

"Yes!" She huffed, still very red in the face. "Now are you going to tell me where to find Rin's father or not?"

"I'll do you one better than that." He said.

Kagome raised a skeptical eyebrow. "How so?"

"C'mon," He said snatching her paper out of her hand and walking into the studio he'd been heading into earlier.

"Where are we…"

"I'm going to get you your audition." He said holding the door for her and Rin. " And then we'll take Rin to her father."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sesshoumaru Takishima tapped his pencil against the script in front of him in irritation. So far the entire day had been a complete waste of time and to say that he was frustrated would be a grievous understatement.

They had seen nearly one hundred girls today, and not one of them had struck him as anything special. No star quality as his father would say.

"That's enough." He bit out, interrupting the poor girl auditioning mid-sentence. She looked stunned, but stood and took her leave regardless.

His scowl deepened as his thoughts turned to his father. He didn't hate his father, no, he respected his father, but that didn't mean that he liked his father.

Before his thoughts could take a darker turn, Miroku rushed in with a triumphant grin on his face. Probably coped a feel on some unsuspecting female on his way in.

"Look no further my friends," He announced melodramatically, "I have found our girl."

Sesshoumaru had to forcibly stop himself from rolling his eyes in irritation.

"You can not drag in every attractive female you find on the street." He told him flatly pinning him with his best 'you are wasting my time peon' glare.

"I'm telling you, this girl is perfect." He boasted, beginning to squirm under Sesshoumaru's scrutiny.

"Miroku, you didn't promise the girl a part if she slept with you, because you know what happened last time." Sango, the casting director scolded the young publicist, her eyebrow twitching in an irritated fashion.

"Why Sango, you wound me." Miroku feigned and innocent look. "I would never do something like that….twice."

"Why are you so anxious for us to meet this girl?" Sesshoumaru asked with an almost imperceptible sigh. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine forming.

"Well, for one thing she has experience."

"So do all of the girls who have auditioned today."

"No, not acting experience, miko experience." Miroku said putting Kagome's form on the table in front of Sesshoumaru.

"She was raised on a shrine." Sesshoumaru stated while reading over the form.

"And that's not even the best part. Wait until you see her." Miroku said, his excitement building as he bounded back out of the room.

Sango looked over at Sesshoumaru challengingly. "200 bucks says she has a double D bra size and her favorite words are 'uh' and ' like'."

Sesshoumaru eyed her skeptically. "I know Miroku far too well to take that bet. He said with a smirk. He really didn't know why he was even humoring the letch. Obviously exhaustion was taking its toll.

If this girl was, as they suspected, just another one of Miroku's bimbo's he would have to give the part to Kagura, something he was not readily willing to do.

Kagura Cain, while a very talented actress with an impressive portfolio, was a premadonna and nearly unbearable to work with. Not to mention the fact that she'd been shamelessly throwing herself at him for the past six months straight. If he had to work with her for nearly a year straight, he might just end up killing her.

'What is taking Miroku so long?' He thought restlessly. The twinges of his oncoming migraine were quickly progressing into stabs of throbbing pain shooting across head. He pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose in effort to thwart the pounding.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru." Sango said quietly leaning toward him. "You ok?"

He shot her a pointed look, but said nothing. If she was too thick to tell that he wasn't 'Ok' then he surely wasn't going bother going to go to the trouble of answering her. Sango had her uses, she was a good judge of character, that's why he had her handling all of the important casting decisions. He was only sitting in on these auditions because the part was so vital to the film. She had to be perfect.

Hushed voices could be heard coming down the hall, one soft and nervous, the other smooth and polished. Sango leaned over to him once more.

"Try to at least be polite to this one?" She begged. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes, but again did not grace her with an answer.

Suddenly the door was flung open and a somewhat hesitant young woman was shoved into the room, the door closing forcefully behind her. She immediately grabbed for the door handle and began to tug furiously at the door to no avail, obviously the letch had anticipated her attempted escape and held the door closed from the other side.

She was pretty enough, from what he could tell. Long raven hair cascaded in soft waves like heavy silk down her back to her small tapered waist. She was petite, but not overly so. He still couldn't see her face, she was still frantically trying to get out the door.

"Miroku," he heard the soft lilt of her voice call out softly. The sound was quite pleasing to the ears and oddly familiar, though he could not place it. She still had her back to them, but he was quite certain he did not know her. He didn't recognize the name anyway. "I don't think I can do this!" She hissed urgently.

"Yes you can." Miroku shouted from the other side of the door.

Her shoulders drooped momentarily before she seemed to gather her courage and straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. Sesshoumaru found the whole scene to be quite amusing, though you wouldn't know it by looking at him. The poor girl looked like she was about up against the firing squad instead of just having an audition.

The girl finally turned, her long raven hair fanning out behind her like a silk cape. She flashed them a nervous smile. "Heh, Hi."

Oh my god.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome fidgeted nervously in the room Miroku had told her to wait in with Rin. She was suddenly feeling very nervous about the whole ordeal and was seriously contemplating making a break for the front door. If it weren't for Rin's chubby hand anchoring her to the spot, she would have.

Picking at her denim skirt with her free hand she wondered if she was terribly under dressed. They passed a girl on the way in who was wearing a pair of dress slacks and a silk blouse. Maybe she was here for some other reason. Yeah right. She started fidgeting again until the tiny hand clasped tightly in her own gave a sharp tug.

"Don't be nervous Miss Kagome." Rin told her, gazing up with those wide mahogany eyes. "Miss. Kagome is very pretty. They will love you."

Kagome smiled down at the little girl, she somehow managed to make her feel more at ease just with those sweet little words. However, her comfort was short lived. Miroku came bounding down the hall looking pleased as a peacock and grabbed her hand pulling her behind him. Rin giggled as she was pulled along as well.

"Miroku, I don't know about all this." She panted as they ran down a long hall way.

"You'll be great. Just be confident, and show no fear."

"Higurashi the fearless." Kagome said softly, remembering what Yuka had said earlier.

"That's the spirit." Miroku said swinging her around and inspecting her. He rearranged a few strands of fly away hair then ran his eyes over the rest of her, a lecherous grin on his face. Kagome fisted her hands on her hips and fixed a threatening glare at him. He immediately held up his hands in a placating manner before giving her a playful wink.

"What about Rin?" Kagome demanded, looking down at the little girl who currently had her legs in a death grip.

"We will wait right out side the door." Miroku promised.

"Will you be ok?" Kagome disentangled herself and kneeled before the child. "I'll be right inside this door if you need me. It shouldn't take long, and then we'll go find your daddy and maybe we can find some ice cream on the way. How does that sound?" The little girl smiled brightly and nodded her head vigorously.

"You are wonderful with children Kagome." Miroku commented. "Are you sure you wont take me up on my offer."

"Positive." Kagome said quickly, but not angrily. For some reason his perverted sense of humor amused her, though she would have to be careful not to encourage him.

"Ok, then." He shrugged, then grabbed her by the forearms and pushed her through the door without another word.

Suddenly every beat of Kagome's heart was pounding at an almost deafening level. 'Oh, I am so going to kill Yuka for this, and Miroku.' Maybe this really wasn't such a good idea, I mean anything that made your insides squirm like they were trying to escape the confines of your body couldn't be good.

Kagome grasped the door handle ready to make her escape only to find that it wouldn't budge. 'Damn you Miroku!' She thought angrily as she tried in vain to push the door open.

"Miroku." She hissed out panicky. " I don't think I can do this."

"Yes you can." He called back.

Kagome felt her shoulders droop. God, how do I always end up in these situations. Not to mention that now she felt like a total idiot for trying to run.

Oh well, she steeled herself, Might as well get this over with. She took in a deep, steadying breath and turned to face her fear.

The room its self was very plain. It looked to be some sort of meeting room, sparsely decorated with a few framed movie posters and a plain concrete floor. A long fold out table was set up in the middle of the room with two occupants seated behind it. A lone stool was positioned about six feet in front of the table with a book marked script lying atop it.

Kagome fought the blush that threatened to consume her as she realized they had witnessed her whole little performance with the door. 'Kill me now.' She begged silently, forcing a smile onto her face. Spontaneous combustion was definitely a possibility, the heat burning on her cheeks was hot enough to fry an egg.

"Heh, Hi." She said nervously. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why didn't you just drool and say duh.'

The young woman sitting behind the table smiled warmly at her. She had long auburn hair pulled up in a high pony tail and pretty brown eyes. The woman had a strong, yet kind look about her. Kagome immediately liked her.

"Miss Higurashi?" She asked sweetly.

Kagome merely nodded. She didn't trust herself to open her mouth anymore than she had to.

"My name is Sango Tayjia, and this," She motioned to the man seated beside her who was looking at her with such intense scrutiny that she cringed. "Is Sesshoumaru Takishima."

Kagome's jaw dropped. "What are you doing here?" She burst out before realizing that yet again her mouth had opened and out flowed the unmerciful wrath of her self incrimination. She blushed again and clapped her hand over her mouth.

Sesshoumaru simply quirked a brow at her and crossed his arms over his chest, much like he had been doing in the photograph. Sango, however, was grinning brightly at her.

"It says here that you are a shrine maiden?" She asked, still flashing an amused grin at her.

"Well, sort of." Kagome said. She could still feel Takishima's eyes on her, it was very intimidating.

"Sort of, I was not aware that you could 'sort of' be a shrine maiden." Sesshoumaru's cool tones cut across at her like a whip making her flinch. He smirked faintly and she realized that he was trying to intimidate her. 'Why that…'

"Well, I was raised on the shrine and brought up with the ancient teachings," She began timidly before steeling herself and snapping a glare at Takishima, 'Higurashi the fearless,' she repeated like a mantra. "But I wasn't sure I wanted to take care of the shrine for the rest of my life, though my grandfather would like nothing more." She finished with more confidence than she would have thought possible under such scrutiny.

Sango smiled even wider. This was the first girl all day not to crumble under Sesshoumaru's glare.

"It says here you have 15 years of dance?" Sango asked, accessing her paper again.

"Yes, I've studied since I was five. Ballet, jazz, modern, pretty much you name it and I've done it." Kagome said proudly, dancing was one thing she was really good at.

"That's all very well and good Higurashi." Sesshoumaru snapped, "Unfortunately this is not a musical, so unless you have some other skills that might be of use to us…"

Kagome felt her hackles rise, how incredibly rude…

"What Sesshoumaru is trying to say," Sango interjected quickly, "is that we need to hear you read some lines."

'Read,' gulp, 'lines? I guess they want to make sure I can speak coherently under pressure. Hopefully they won't give me any lines for real, if they even pick me to be an extra. Though she probably blew her shot when she tried to pull a Houdini.'

Kagome mutely walked up to the stool and picked up the script. Her throat had suddenly gone dry and her hands were shaking slightly.

"Ok," Sango said calmly, "Just turn to the book marked page. You are Miya, a priestess sworn to protect the Shikon no tama from evil. You have just come across the great demon lord of the west, Norihiko. He has been ambushed and is injured to the point of death. Your conflict is that as a miko, the demon is your natural enemy, but for some reason you can not let him die. Sesshoumaru will lead you into the monologue."

Sesshoumaru shot her a fierce glare, obviously not pleased, but Naraku had already left for the day so he didn't have much choice.

He stood and walked around the table toward the slightly quaking girl. He didn't even need the script, already knowing the lines by heart. He did, after all, write it.

Kagome looked up at him, having to crane her neck slightly to look into his honey toned eyes. He was a good head taller than her and now that he was so close she could smell the sweet musk of his cologne. It was a little distracting to say the least.

He perched himself comfortably on the stool so they were at a more even level, pulling up his knee and draping his arm across it comfortably. Kagome took a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable. She could do this. She would not make a fool of herself, and above all else she would not let Sesshoumaru Takishima get the better of her, no matter how good looking he was.

"Are you ready?" He asked, his smooth voice caressing her ears like silk. She nodded and looked down at her script preparing herself.

Then he began.

"So, you have come to finish off the western lord while he is down miko?" He barked out in the raspy tones of someone injured and in pain, yet it still held the arrogance and pride of a lord. He really was good.

Something flashed in Kagome's startling blue eyes, something akin to deja vous. She felt a nagging twinge at the back of her heart as the words flowed from his mouth. "And if I am?" She replied haughtily.

"I may be injured, but I will not die by the hands of a wretched woman such as your self. You will be dead before you can even reach me."

"Please Lord Norihiko, save your high and mighty attitude for your courtiers. I have no intent to kill you, though I probably should rid the lands of your tyranny…"

They went on for some time, Miya finally tending to Norihiko's wounds and hiding him in her hut under the guise of a wandering vagabond. It was an incredible performance, Kagome slid into the part as though it was written for her and she and Sesshoumaru played off each other with natural ease.

When it they were through Sango clapped enthusiastically while Sesshoumaru resumed his position behind the table.

"That was wonderful Kagome!" Sango praised her generously. Kagome blushed furiously, she really had just fallen into the soul of the scene and forgotten all about her being there.

"It was adequate." Sesshoumaru corrected, looking down at her form almost angrily. "Tell me Higurashi, why is it you have come to this audition with out your portfolio?" He demanded, sending all decent feelings Kagome was beginning to foster right out the window.

"Portfolio?" She questioned.

"Please do not feign ignorance, it is most unbecoming."

"Excuse me!" She was angry now. He was insulting her and acting like a complete and total jerk. She knew she wasn't great, but it wasn't like she was auditioning for the lead roll or anything.

"You heard me, or are you deaf as well?"

Sango was staring at Sesshoumaru as if he'd grown a second head. The man was a jerk, he could be cold and callous, but she'd never seen him just go off on someone for no reason like this before.

"Listen here you…you…jack ass!" Kagome shouted getting red in the face. She was unaccustomed to swearing and it was painfully obvious, but she was too angry to care at the moment. "I do not have to put up with this. First I get dragged up here to mingle in the throngs of your psychotic fan girls and have to listen to them talk about your underwear and sleep habits, then I get lost on the lot and found the sweetest little girl who's father apparently doesn't know how to find a decent baby sitter because she was lost as well, then I get checked out by a pervert and shoved into this little room to get run into the ground by 'mister high and mighty my under ware are too tight and its making me crabby'. I have better things to do with my time thank you very much. If you'll excuse me, I won't take up anymore of your time." She turned and began to stalk toward the door.

"Kagome wait!" Sango shouted jumping out of her seat. Kagome turned, he face bright with anger.

"You know MR. Takishima, I was right about you all along. You are nothing more than an egocentric, spoiled, jerk. Now, I have a date with Rin and the ice cream parlor. Then I have to track down her good for nothing father. Good day!" She shouted, stomping out the door and slamming it behind her.

Sesshoumaru settled back in his chair, his finger tips resting upon each other as he smirked in satisfaction. That was most definitely amusing. He wasn't exactly sure why he goaded her the way he did, it was rather childish in truth, but he couldn't help himself. She was good, a little too good to only have some high school drama.

"Wait, did she say Rin?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N; Hello there peoples!I've been saying I was going to pull this one out of the closet, and believe it or not I actually have! Tell you what, I had almost 800 reviews when it was dropped the first time, so if you guys really like this story and want some new chapters, let me know (review!) and I'll put my other fics on the back burner for a while and work on this one! Thanks for reading!

U.C.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer; see chapter one. It hasn't changed, unfortunately.

The Final Bow

By: Undecidedly Certain

Chapter Two

Into the Lions Den

Kagome Stormed out the door in a rage. She didn't need to be in the stupid movie, in fact she didn't even want to be in the stupid movie for the simple fact that it was HIS stupid movie.

Really though, who does he think he is anyway. Just because the guy has an overabundance of money, good looks, and packs of vapid, screaming fan girls, he thinks he can treat people however he damn well pleases.

Well no sir, not this girl. Kagome Higurashi bows down to no man, be he a sex god or not!

Kagome slammed the door behind her, face red and nostrils flaring, looking like the poster child for indignation, that or a raging bull. Miroku looked slightly nervous upon seeing her, but her anger began to ebb as soon as she caught sight of Rin's happy grin. Looking into that sweet little face, she couldn't help but smile.

Albeit it was a tense, slightly forced smile at first, but as soon as the little girl threw herself into Kagome's arms it melted into a true one.

"How did it go?" Miroku asked apprehensively.

She shot him a pointed glare over Rin's shoulder in response.

"That well huh?" He said with a nervous laugh.

Kagome felt herself getting flustered again just thinking about it. He had been so rude to her, she knew she wasn't the next Julia Roberts or anything, but she didn't think she did that bad.

Something about that man was off, though she couldn't quite place what it was. When they had been running lines, close enough for her to smell the sweet musk of his cologne, close enough to feel the fire in his eyes burning deeply in her soul…

It was like the pull of something familiar, something long forgotten. Something that called to her, and it didn't help that he just happened to be incredibly sexy. Too bad he's such a jerk.

Placing Rin on the ground, Kagome took her pudgy little hand into her own giving it a gentle squeeze.

"So Rin, are you ready to go get that ice cream now?"

"Yup, yup, yup!" The little girl shouted enthusiastically.

"Alright, Miroku, would you be so kind as to point us in the direction of the cafeteria?"

"Of course," He said bowing with flourish, "anything for such a lovely…"

"Flattery will get you no where mister," Kagome interrupted tersely, "you're still in trouble for that little stunt earlier."

Miroku sighed, his midnight eyes shining with unspoken apology. He knew how Takishima could be. "I wouldn't take anything he said too personally." He stated repentantly. "He can be rather…brusque when he is working."

"Yeah, well there's no excuse for treating people like dirt just because they don't live up to his personal standards."

"I fully agree with you Kagome." Miroku nodded thoughtfully. "But we can not control the mindset of others, we can only hope to influence them with our own."

Kagome was slightly taken aback by the very Zen-like response from the young man. By the way he first presented himself (giving her a good once over with his eyes and asking her to bed!) She hadn't figured him to be the philosophical type.

Unless of course you count the Kama Sutra as a field of philosophy.

He smirked wolfishly at her stunned expression. "Have I impressed you with my remarkable intellect? Perhaps now you would reconsider…"

"The answer is still no." She huffed, but couldn't hide the smile that spread across her face, nor could she ignore the playful twinkle in his eyes that responded. A pervert he may be, but Miroku was obviously a nice guy trying to get a smile from her.

"Now," She said still smiling, "Point us toward the ice cream."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Wait, did she just say Rin?" Sesshoumaru balked at the now closed door.

Sesshoumaru Takishima pulled his chrome colored cell off his belt, quickly flipping it open and pressing #1 on his speed dial.

"H-hello?" A crotchety and decidedly nervous voice answered on the first ring.

"Jaken." Sesshoumaru's deep baritone demanded, just that one word, amazingly enough, was able to convey his anger.

"Mr. Takishima sir!" Jaken squawked. "I was just…" But the poor man never got to finish.

"Where is Rin." He commanded darkly.

"Well, you see, er, that is to say…"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, trying to reign in his temper. "Is she with you now, at this precise moment?"

"…not exactly, but I have been combing the lot in search…"

CLICK

Sesshoumaru slammed the phone closed with a flick of his wrist. He was not pleased, and had he stayed on the phone with the incompetent man servant any longer he may have fired him, and that just would not do.

Incompetent as he may be, Jaken had served his family nearly his whole life. He knew of nothing else and at nearly seventy years of age, the old codger would probably have a heart attack at the prospect of being dismissed.

Sango was absolutely livid. She snapped an angry glare on him that would have had a lesser man whimpering like a whipped puppy.

"What the hell was that Sesshoumaru!" She spouted angrily. "You had the perfect girl practically dumped in your lap and you had to go and piss her off!"

His glare intensified and the temperature of the room suddenly seemed about thirty degrees colder.

"You dare question my methods? Need I remind you that you work for me, not the other way around?" He snapped tersely. He wasn't usually so harsh with her, but between the Higurashi girl and Rin, he was a little on edge.

"Of course not, Mr. Takishima." She bit out turning to avoid his eyes. "I just don't understand why you were so hard on her. She wasn't bad, a bit raw maybe, but I think it gave her an honest quality, and she certainly looked the part."

Sesshoumaru sighed, applying pressure to the bridge of his nose trying to relieve some of the pressure. Strangely enough he hadn't even noticed the throbbing in his skull the whole time the Higurashi girl was present.

Perhaps her quirky little display with the door was enough to distract him from the pain, or perhaps it was those startlingly expressive blue eyes of hers…

In all actuality, he really didn't know why he lashed out at her the way he did. There was just something about the girl that made him feel….off balance.

He couldn't describe adequately the feelings she had stirred with those eyes, so innocent and yet fiery at the same time.

It made him feel raw, exposed. The overwhelming urge to make her feel just as unsettled had been irrefutable, no matter how childish and unfounded his goading had been.

An image floated through his mind of her standing before him, her eyes ablaze and her delicate hands curled into tiny fists of indignation. She was spirited, maybe a little too spirited, but the way her midnight tresses fell about her shoulders in waves like the finest bolt of heavy black silk, it was …intoxicating.

The feelings that arguing with the impudent young slip of a woman invoked, while easily recognizable, were no less disturbing. He couldn't deny the way his blood heated as her eyes narrowed in anger. The way his heart pounded in response to her rising challenge.

This could prove to be troublesome indeed. Higurashi would be a thorn in his side, of that he was sure.

Sango was looking at him expectantly, awaiting instructions.

"Well," She asked finally with a defeated sigh, "Should I offer the part to Kagura?" She added a slight grumble after mentioning the woman's name. Sango had had the displeasure of working with Kagura on a previous project.

Sesshoumaru promptly stood and started for the door. "I am going to collect Rin. Do not do anything until I return."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Rin's most favorite ice cream is pink!" Rin announced happily swinging their linked hands as they made their way toward the cafeteria. Miroku had pointed them in the right direction and sent them on their quest for confection with assurances that he would notify Rin's father about their location.

"Pink huh?" Kagome giggled as they entered the large building in the center of the lot Miroku had described.

Kagome was fairly surprised to discover that it was more like a food court than an actual cafeteria, complete with a WacDonalds and a small soft serve ice cream stand. A couple of dozen round café style tables littered the floor in the middle of the building.

"Wow, how convenient." Kagome commented as they stepped into the air conditioned area.

Rin immediately started squealing excitedly and pulling Kagome along behind her toward the soft serve stand.

"Rin wants pink!" The little girl shouted enthusiastically. The young man running the stand, a skinny boy in his late teens with mousy brown hair and a liberal sprinkling of freckles, turned his clearly confused brown eyes to Kagome. She smiled warmly at him making the younger boy blush.

"We'll have two strawberry waffle cones." Kagome translated for the man running the cart. He nodded, a light pink still staining his heavily freckled cheeks.

"Don't forget the sprinkles!" Rin shouted, now jumping up and down in anticipation of the sugary goodness that was to come.

"Oh my goodness," Kagome smiled down at the girl, "How could we have forgotten the sprinkles. Please make that two strawberry waffle cones with sprinkles."

Rin gave her approval with a thumbs up and a grin. Priceless.

After getting their 'pink' ice cream with sprinkles, Kagome handed the young man enough money to pay for the cones along with a small tip and headed to one of the little tables in the center of the spacious room.

Rin was a perfect picture of contentment sitting in her white plastic chair swinging her legs wildly as she lapped at her ice cream like a happy cat.

Sprinkles scattered all over the table with every lick she took and some of the ice cream dripped down her chin like a sticky, pink goatee.

Kagome rested her elbows on the table and cradled her chin on her intertwined fingers, watching the child with a wistful smile.

She felt so at peace sitting here with Rin, and though she knew Miroku was going to tell her father where they were, the young woman was in no hurry for him to get there.

Guilt started to seep into her conscience like cold water. She was actually starting to feel a little bad about the way she let loose her 'inner demon' so to speak, on Mr. Takishima. Kagome prided herself on her usually calm demeanor, she wasn't a pushover or anything, but she almost never lost her cool and lowered herself to be in a screaming match like that. Unless of course it was with her little brother Sota, but that didn't count. It was her god given duty to scream at him.

A slight frown crossed her face. Now that she really thought about it, she had acted rather childishly by rising to his obvious baiting. She just couldn't seem to stop herself though.

But it did leave room to question his motives. Why exactly was he baiting her to begin with? Was it some kind of test? Had she failed miserably, cracking like a thin shelled peanut under his carefully applied pressure.

She decided right then and there that should she ever see the stuck up jerk again, she would apologize.

"You're ice cream is gonna melt Miss Kagome." Rin stated solemnly, as though it were a sin to let something so sweet go to waste.

"That's ok sweetie, I guess I'm just not all that hungry."

"Papa Sess likes pink ice cream too!" Rin stated knowledgably, taking another swipe at her own melting confection.

"Oh he does does he?" The little girl nodded vigorously. "Well maybe if he agrees to get you a better baby sitter then we might just let him have some pink ice cream, won't we?"

Rin beamed at her while nodding excitedly, then attacked her ice cream again.

"Kidnapping eh Higurashi," A deep, rich voice rang out behind her, causing her to jerk up right in her chair, "you must have forgotten to write that one down on your resume."

Kagome whirled around so fast that some of the melted ice cream in her waffle cone splattered the front of his expensive shirt.

"Mr. Takishima!" She gasped. There he was, of all the places for him to be right now, his hands shoved casually in his pockets. She followed his disgruntled gaze to the now pink polka dotted front of his shirt. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" Kagome exclaimed, her mortification taking on a corporeal embodiment on her flaming cheeks.

Dashing over to the trash bins, she deposited the drippy remains of her ice cream and grabbed a handful of paper napkins.

"I can't believe I did that." She mumbled ruefully as she dabbed at the front of his shirt. She could feel the smooth, hard lines of his chest through the soft material and had the sudden urge to run her hands over the broad expanse in a much more personal way.

'It must be his cologne.' Kagome thought absently as she continued to dab at the spots. 'He smells so good.'

"You should probably soak this as soon as you get a chance, or it will stain." She was starting to ramble, a sure sign of nervousness. "besides, I don't really think pink is your color…"

Her pitiful attempt at humor and her attentions to his shirt were halted suddenly as a pair of warm, strong hands gripped her wrists. Startled, she looked up immediately blushing at their close proximity and the amused look in his eyes.

"Sorry." She choked out airily as he continued to look into her face in silence.

There was that strange feeling again, that pull. It almost made her want to….

"Papa Sess, loooook! Rin got's pink ice cream." Rin squealed happily holding up the half eaten cone, most of which was currently dripping down her fingers creating a sticky trail straight to her elbow.

Rin's sudden outburst shattered whatever illusion seemed to be holding them in place.

Sesshoumaru immediately dropped the slender wrists he'd been holding captive against his chest. 'What is it about this girl?' He wondered.

Kagome looked at Rin, then slowly, as what the child said began to sink in, turned to blink owlishly at Sesshoumaru. "Papa Sess?"

He gave a curt nod, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

'Well,' Kagome thought wryly, 'Should have seen that one coming.' Her embarrassment was quickly blooming on her cheeks. Then something he'd said earlier clicked into place.

"Kidnapping!" She said menacingly, embarrassment all but forgotten. "Let's try finding her alone and scared after she ran away from someone named Jaken who was mean to her. I, mister, am the hero here."

Sesshoumaru merely raised an elegant eyebrow at her as if to say, 'and your point is?'.

Kagome felt her blood begin to boil. Her hands balled into fists at her sides and she ground her teeth sharply against each other. She opened her mouth to let loose a verbal lashing he wouldn't soon forget when she noticed Rin watching them both very intently.

Talk about knocking the wind out of your sails. No matter how bad the guy got under her skin, she was not about to tell him off in front of his own kid, besides she had already said her peace in the audition room.

Taking a deep steadying breath, Kagome forced her mouth into the closest proximity of a smile that she could muster.

"I apologize Mr. Takishima, I'm sure you would never knowingly leave Rin in the care of such an incompetent person." She bit out with enough artificial sweetness to give him a cavity.

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru said, amusement dancing in his eyes, though his face disclosed nothing but an arrogant smirk.

"You are impossible." She huffed, her sparkling blue eyes narrowing in anger.

"I could say the same about you Higurashi." Her retorted smugly. Why did he feel he could argue so feely with her, and why did he practically know exactly how to push her buttons. Was she just that predictable? He wasn't so sure that was it.

Kagome rolled her eyes, but stiffened slightly when two of the obviously more despondent nerve endings in her brain made a connection. She was shocked at how much the realization bothered her, not that she would let it show.

"I didn't realize that you were married." She commented as offhandedly as she could, averting her eyes to the suddenly very interesting plastic chair in front of her.

He seemed to bristle slightly, all traces of amusement in his eyes gone. "Not that it is any of your business, but I am not married."

"Oh." 'Oh, Come on Kagome, that's the most intelligent thing you can manage to say!' She silently scolded her self, chancing a look at him.

He immediately noticed the pink tinge to her cheeks, his trade mark smirk returning full force.

'Damn it, now he thinks I was hitting on him!' She screamed in her head, quickly averting her attention back to Rin. The girl had now finished her ice cream and was currently licking the sweet remnants off her pudgy little hands.

When she noticed the two adults watching her, she broke into a huge grin. It was really quite comical, the girl looked like she had smeared an entire bottle of pepto bismal on her face.

Kagome stifled her giggles with the back of her hand. When she glanced out of the corner of her eyes at Takishima she was surprised to see a small, genuine smile gracing his handsome face.

It gave him an entirely different look, and even more surprising was the sudden longing that welled up in her to see him smile like that more often.

'Ack what's wrong with me! I'm starting to sound like Yuka!' She thought in alarm. No, Yuka would want to see him wearing his underwear more often, not see him wearing a smile. Although….

Startled by her own thoughts, Kagome walked over and gathered the sticky child in her arms, desperate for a distraction. "Come on cutie-pie, let's go hose you off."

"Ok." She chirped, latching on to Kagome.

"We'll be right back." Kagome told Sesshoumaru, giving him a gentle smile. He simply nodded, placing his hands back in his pockets and followed the girls with his eyes as they headed toward the restrooms.

It was quite intriguing to watch the young woman interacting with Rin. She was good with her and had apparently spent a good part of the afternoon watching over her. That was quite an accomplishment.

Rin could be rather…..energetic. Not to mention the fact that Rin generally didn't take to women very well, not since her mother.

The two women came around the corner, bother looking slightly damp and both giggling happily. Sesshoumaru had to admit, it made a nice picture.

He rolled his eyes heavenward and let out an almost imperceptible sigh. He was almost certain he would come to regret this. He had a nagging feeling that Higurashi would not consign herself to taking orders and behaving.

"Higurashi." He commanded, earning himself a sharp glare. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and continued. "You will be here no later than eight am tomorrow morning. Be sure you pack what ever you will need for the next three months."

All of the hell that she was sure to put him through was validated by the look of utter bewilderment that crossed her face in that moment.

"W-where exactly will I be going?"

"The film will have a great deal of ancient fighting techniques and customs. The cast will be spending the next three months at my sea side estate to train and prepare for filming."

"I, well, uh…."Was her oh so intelligent response. She was completely stunned. Whatever she had been expecting from him, it certainly wasn't to get a part in the movie.

"Sango will go over your contracts and pay before we leave, and don't be late Higurashi."

"Uh, ok." She said meekly, mentally scolding herself for her sudden lack of vocabulary.

"Bye Miss Kagome!" Rin waved enthusiastically as she was led out the door. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Suddenly Sesshoumaru stopped and turned to face her. "Rin, what do you say to Miss Higurashi?"

The little girl looked thoughtful for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. "I love you!" She ran up and hugged her.

Kagome had to laugh at the stunned look on Takishima's face.

"Rin I meant about the ice cream." He said clearing his throat nervously. It was too cute.

"Oh, thank-you Miss Kagome for the pink ice cream with sprinkles on top."

Kagome returned the little girls grin and rubbed noses with her earning a squeal of delight. "You're very welcome Rin." She laughed, setting the little girl back on her feet. "Who couldn't love a sweet little girl like you?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Rin answered anyway. "Jaken doesn't love Rin, he is a crusty old toad."

Sesshoumaru smirked at the child's brutal honesty and choice of words while Kagome nearly choked on air. "Now Rin," She said holding in her laughter the best that she could, "That's," (snort) , "not very," (giggle), "nice."

"But it's true!" She defended earnestly, "and Papa Sess said that good girls don't lie."

Kagome smiled, finally able to control her laughter, gave Rin a gentle push toward her father. "Well then, I guess I'll see you in the morning Rin?" The child in question nodded happily. "Oh, and Mr. Takishima," He locked eyes with her to let her know he was listening, in avertedly making her breath hitch.

'Why does he have to have such intense eyes?'

He cocked his eyebrow at her silence. "Uh," she finally stuttered, "don't forget to soak your shirt when you get home."

He smirked and nodded, then turned and walked toward the door, Rin happily skipping in tow.

"Well," Kagome said out loud to the now deserted food court, "That was weird."

And to top it all off the arrogant jerk probably thought she was checking him out!

'But you were." Her subconscious nagged sounding annoyingly like Yuka.

'No I wasn't! Why would I bother wasting my time to check out an arrogant, pig headed, hard chested, gorgeous eyed….

Aw hell.

This was going to be a long three months.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning was spent in a flurry of flying clothes and toiletries as Kagome rushed around her tiny apartment at an ungodly hour in the morning trying to get ready.

She would have done it the night before, but she had been a bit preoccupied…

Her phone rang as soon as she walked in the front door. It was Yuka.

"I can not believe you ditched on us like that Kags!" Yuka screeched into the phone before Kagome could even get out a hello. She grimaced an pulled the receiver away from her ear in an effort to try to preserve her eardrums.

"Yuka, you're going to make my ears bleed one of these days, you know that!" Kagome complained while tugging on her earlobe hoping to make the ringing subside. "Besides, I didn't bail on you. I auditioned."

Silence.

"You did?" Yuka finally said, obviously a little disappointed to have her berating cut short.

"Yeah, and I think I got a part. I have to leave in the morning for three months of training and rehearsals…"

"Wow Kags, you must have gotten a big part if you have to go for training." Yuka admonished, a tinge of green seeping into her voice.

"Naw, I think I'm just going to be an extra or something. Takishima said that the movie had lots of…."

"Did you say Takishima?" Yuka interrupted.

'uh-oh'... "Um, Yeah."

"As in Sesshoumaru Takishima?"

"Yeah," Kagome squeaked knowing perfectly well where this was going. She went ahead and moved the phone about a foot away from her ear.

"OH MY GOD! YOU MET SESSHOUMARU TAKISHIMA! AHHHHHHHH!"

After about five straight minutes of screaming Yuka managed to exert some extent of control over herself. Either that or she was out of breath. Either way it gave way to the desired results and Kagome chanced replacing the receiver to her ear.

"Yuka, it really wasn't that big of a deal, I mean the guys a jerk."

"Who cares if he's a jerk! He's damn sexy!" Yuka bellowed.

Kagome couldn't help but laugh. Maybe if Sesshoumaru started acting like too much of an ass during the training she could just threaten to sick Yuka on him. That would be enough to scare any man into submission, even Mr. High and mighty himself.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Kagome does he look as good in real life as he does on TV?"

"Well, I guess but…"

"Oh, oh, oh! Did he talk to you? Did he talk to someone else in the same room as you? Isn't his voice just dreamy?"

"Dreamy?" Kagome asked skeptically. "Yuka, how corny…"

"What kind of underwear was he wearing?"

"WHAT! You pervert, I auditioned for a part in a movie, I didn't sleep with the guy!"

It took Kagome nearly three hours to get off the phone with her overly imaginative friend and by the time she called her mother, her landlord, and her school to arrange to take next semester off it was closing in on ten thirty at night and she was bushed.

Unfortunately that meant that she pushed off the arduous task of packing for the morning. Kagome herself knew that she was not a morning person, so what ever possessed her to set her alarm for five am is still a mystery.

Somewhere during the morning melee, Kagome managed to pack a bag with most of the essentials, though how she managed it was nothing short of a miracle.

Luckily for Kagome pretty much everything matches with blue jeans because there were no considerations for color coordination floating around her fuzzy pre-latte mind.

The Cab pulled up in front of the studio at precisely 7:55 am. 'Ah!' Kagome thought triumphantly, 'Five minutes to spare!' She handed the cabbie his money and climbed out with her luggage.

As she made her way to the security gate she wondered vaguely if she would have any trouble getting in. Sure it had been easy enough yesterday, but the guard hadn't exactly been Mr. Congeniality either.

Another question formed in her mind, which was amazing because she was still in very serious need of some caffeine. Her heavy and well worn suitcase scraped the pavement behind her as she slowly trudged toward the gate. Where was she supposed to go once she got in there?

Takishima had said 'be here at eight.' How much more vague could he be considering that the entirety of the lot covered a good square mile or more. Did he mean 'be here' at the lot, or did he mean 'be here' at the food court, or was the whole thing just a cruel joke meant to humiliate her.

No, Takishima may be a jerk, but she didn't see him as the 'practical jokes from hell' type. At least she hoped not anyways.

A firm knot of nervous anxiety tied itself tightly around her chest making her seriously consider turning around right then and there and going home. Just as she was about to give in to her cowardice someone called her name.

"Kagome Higurashi?" A distinctly male voice called out, though it was not the velvety baritone of Sesshoumaru, it was still very pleasing to the ear.

Kagome turned to find a young man, probably in his mid-20's, with long dark brown hair tied up into a high horse tail and incredible ocean blue eyes. She was confused though, did she know this man?

Not that she would mind if she did, he was a knock out! Not quite in the 'sex-god' category with Sesshoumaru, but pretty darn close.

"Um, yes?" She said nervously, swinging her cumbersome bag with her.

The man smiled warmly at her. "Wow, Miroku said you were beautiful, but the word hardly does you justice."

Kagome blushed at the flattery. "Thank-you." She said, not really sure how to respond to such generous compliments.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The young man balked thrusting out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Koga Ookami, the bad guy."

Kagome took his hand, both her brows going up at his unusual self proclamation. "The bad guy?"

He laughed heartily, it was a nice sound, very disarming. So far Kagome couldn't see anything bad about him.

"I'm playing Ryokotse in the movie. He's the bad guy."

"Oh!" Well that made sense. A grin wide spread across her face.

"Sango sent me out here to meet you. I'll take your bag for you. The cars will be around in about thirty minutes, but Sango wants you to meet her in her office first."

"O-okay." This was a little over whelming. She tried to absorb everything he was saying while following him past security. "Uh, Koga?"

"Hmmm?" He asked, turning to look at her, her heavy bag slung effortlessly over his shoulder.

"Where is Sango's office?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A few minutes and what felt like a half mile walk later Kagome found herself knocking on a door marked 'Sango Tayjia.'

"Come in." came the snappy reply from within.

Kagome cringed at the tone used and slowly pushed the door open. Two non-morning people in a closed in space with no coffee could be a lethal combination.

She was surprised when she found a very angry looking Sango on the other side glaring daggers at a blissful looking Miroku who was nursing a swollen looking cheek.

Kagome's brows furrowed in confusion as she nervously cleared her throat. Sango's attention immediately snapped to the new comer, her face softening into a welcoming grin as she met Kagome's gaze.

"Ah, the lovely Lady Kagome." Miroku said taking her hands into his own. Kagome couldn't help but notice the way Sango's eye brow twitched at his actions. Could it be that she has feelings for Miroku, she wondered.

Kagome politely extricated her hands form his grasp and smiled nervously at Sango, trying to break-up some of the tension.

"Don't mind the pervert." She said walking behind her desk and motioning for Kagome to take a seat across form her. "He can't seem to keep his hands to himself. You!" She pointed at the afore mentioned pervert. "Out!"

"I will see you shortly ladies." He said with a bow as he swept out of the room. The door shut behind him with a snap.

Kagome felt the sudden need to squirm and fidget in her chair, though she wasn't sure quite why. Sango seemed amiable enough, as long as you weren't Miroku.

Sango pulled a folder form her top desk drawer and settled it between them and smiled genially at the younger girl. "So Kagome, are you excited?" She asked flipping the folder open.

"I'm a little nervous to be honest."

"Don't be. Sesshoumaru is the best in the business. He'll make sure everything is perfect so don't be afraid to ask should you need anything."

She nodded. Suddenly her words were failing her again. This really shouldn't be this hard, should it?

"Ok," Sango continued, pulling out the first pack of papers and reading. "This is pretty much a standard contract stating that you, Kagome Higurashi, will be playing the role of Miya in …."

That spurred her into vocalization. "What do you mean I'll be playing Miya?" She asked in a near panic. "I haven't read the script or anything, but isn't the movie about Miya?"

Sango smiled. "Well technically its about Norihiko, Miya, Ryokotse, and the legend of the Shikon no tama, but Miya is the leading lady."

Kagome's jaw nearly hit the floor. "I-I thought I was going to be an extra."

Sango gave her a comical look before continuing. "An extra? You're way too good to just be an extra. Don't worry you'll do fine."

"I-I don't know, I mean…" She stammered as Sango slid the last sheet of paper under her nose, "Holy hell look at all those zeros!" She blurted before she could stop herself. A slight pink tinged her cheeks , but she couldn't help it. That was a lot of money.

500,000.00! 500,000.00 freaking dollars! A half million. Oh my...she could pay off all of mama's debt and still have enough left over to pay for her and Souta's college.

These kinds of opportunities don't' come around every day. Kagome didn't consider herself to be a greedy person, but her family really could use the money and if she could do this to help them, then she would.

"Where do I sign?" She asked keenly.

Sango laughed and handed her a pen.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Thanks for reading! U.C.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer; See chapter one.

The Final Bow

By: Undecidedly Certain

Chapter Three

Meeting the Cast

It was nearly a three hour drive from White Dog Studios in Tokyo to Sesshoumaru's seaside estate near the outskirts of Sendai. Kagome was waiting nervously with Sango and Miroku near the back gates for the car to come around to pick them up.

It had been delightfully surprised to find out that, along with their administrative duties, both the high strung casting director and the perverted publicist had pretty big roles in the film an would be attending the training. Although with the way those two carried on, Kagome was fairly certain that one of them would be either pregnant or dead by the time this was all over.

When the long white limousine pulled around Kagome just knew she was gawking like and idiot and had the decency to be embarrassed by it. It was by far the most impressive vehicle she had ever seen let alone ridden in. When Koga had said 'car' she had been picturing…well, a car. In Kagome's opinion, anything that takes up more than three parking spaces and has a built in wet bar can't be considered a car.

She was actually kind of giddy about the whole deal. She hadn't ridden in a limo since she went to Junior Prom with Hojo in High School. Even then, the limo they had taken was a rusted out old pinto compared to this. This was the top of the line, all shiny and new, a Lincoln Navigator to be exact. Kagome felt very out of place standing next to it in her blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Koga came striding toward the 'car' with an impish smile and a beautiful red head in tow. He introduced her as Ayami Sanosuke, she was playing the role of Koga's second hand man, er… woman, in the movie. She seemed nice enough, she had a pleasant smile, but she was a bit clingy. Poor Koga seemed to be having a hard time extracting his arm from her vice-like grip.

Kagome giggled discretely at the pair. Koga seemed to be only half heartedly trying to escape the over zealous girl. It looked more like an outlandish game of cat and mouse than anything else. They were cute together.

Suddenly the pounding of little pink sneakers could be heard coming their way. Rin's little body slammed into her at full tilt nearly knocking Kagome over. Kagome gasped, surprised, then smiled down at the little brown headed child firmly attached to her hip.

"Hi Miss Kagome!" The girl squealed, burying her head into the older girls stomach. "Rin missed you."

"Good morning to you too Rin!" Kagome chortled, ruffling the child's hair and straightening her ponytail.

Prince chagrin himself was not far behind, looking just as pristine as he had Yesterday. Well, as pristine as he had before Kagome assaulted him with her ice cream cone. Even though they were about to be crammed in the back of a car for three hours he was dressed business casual in a pair of dark khaki slacks and a white button down dress shirt. No tie. The top two buttons were left undone, teasing her with a glimpse of his smooth chest.

He had his hands thrust casually in his pockets, the material of his chinos puckering slightly around his wrists. Every strand of his hair was in perfect disarray. It looked incredibly soft, her fingers itched to run through it.

An odd look crossed her face as she realized the direction her thoughts were going. It was an unhealthy mix of horror and humiliation.

Sesshoumaru, noticing that she was staring at him like he'd grown another head, shot her a questioning look while readjusting his laptop case on his shoulder.

Bristling like a startled cat, Kagome quickly turned her attention elsewhere. It was really remarkable how clean the rims on the limo were, almost like new, she thought dismally trying to hide her embarrassment.

Why oh why couldn't she have realized she was staring just a moment earlier and why oh why did she have to feel this strange attraction toward him?

Well, ok. So maybe it wasn't so strange to be attracted to him, but it was this perplexing feeling of longing she felt toward him that was unsettling her so.

Those weren't the sort of feelings that just sprang up with random crushes, especially not after just meeting said crush. And even more especially when said crush was a jerk.

Who even said she had a crush on the jerk to begin with. Damn it all to hell.

With a soft sigh Kagome climbed into the limo, immediately sliding over to take residence by the window. She knew no amount of Dramamine would save her if she was crammed somewhere in the middle with no fresh air. Kagome's motion sickness was legend in the Higurashi family.

Rin settled comfortably beside her and placed her little pink backpack of traveling goodies on her knees while Sesshoumaru sat on her other side, immediately pulling out his slim laptop computer and plugging it in to an outlet ornately disguised in the side paneling.

The interior of the limo was just as pristine and new looking. Brown leather and highly polished mahogany paneling covered every square inch of the inside. It even had that wonderful 'new car' smell.

Rin pulled a brown haired Barbie doll out of her bag and began tipping the scantily clad doll back and forth across Kagome's leg like it was walking.

"And who is this?" Kagome asked with a hint of nostalgia. She had tons of Barbie's when she was a little girl. Still did in fact, they were all tucked away in the attic of her mothers house with the huge doll house her father built for her fifth birthday. Mom insisted on keeping all of those things in hopes of having grandchildren before too long to bring them out for. She found Kagome's complete lack of a steady boyfriend quite distressing.

"This is stinky Marge." Rin announced happily swinging the doll so her brown hair twirled around in a wide arc.

"Stinky…Marge?" Kagome asked slowly, trying to ascertain whether she'd heard right or not. Rin nodded vigorously, bobbing the dolls head too for emphasis. Kagome had expected Barbie, or Kelley, or even Sally, but definitely not Stinky Marge. She noted that Sesshoumaru was massaging the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

Ah, she thought devilishly, so this is a pressure point for the poker faced producer. "Where on earth did you come up with the name stinky Marge?" Kagome asked trying not to snicker at Sesshoumaru's sharp glare.

"Rin's last baby sitter was called Margie and she had brown hair like her." She said holding up the doll. "Also, she was stinky." Then she added conspiratorially. "She wanted to be Papa Sess's girl friend."

"R-really?" Kagome could barely contain her giggles even when Sesshoumaru sent her a death glare from across the car.

The other occupants of the car seemed to be fervently trying to find something else in the car to focus their attention on. Sango was looking out the window, a quivering smile on her face, Miroku was hiding behind a copy of the movie script, Ayami had her face buried in Koga's shoulder (though she probably had ulterior motives with that move), and Koga had his head tipped back and was intently studying the upholstered ceiling.

"Rin, we have talked about this, have we not?" Sesshoumaru gently scolded. The little girl turned her big puppy dog eyes on him and his glower softened slightly.

"Yes sir." She sighed. "Miss Margie was not stinky, she just didn't smell real good." The little girl corrected earning another snort from Kagome. Sesshoumaru sighed and turned back to his lap top.

Miroku and Koga started a game of cards with a deck Miroku pulled out of a side compartment while Sango and Ayami examined a portfolio with costume designs, 'ooing' and 'ahing' every now and then. Sesshoumaru alternately pursued his laptop and cell phone making arrangements for god knows what.

It didn't take long for the subtle vibrations of the drive to take effect. Before they even reached the outskirts of the city, Rin began to yawn widely, her eyes fluttering as she fought to keep them open.

Finally succumbing to the sandman's call, Rin lay her head in Kagome's lap and drifted to sleep, Stinky Marge tucked securely under her arm. Kagome smiled and languidly ran her fingers through the child's baby-fine hair.

Sango smiled at the serenity of the scene, the younger woman seemed to glow with maternal instinct even though the child was not her own. She also noted with a smirk that someone else had taken notice as well. Sesshoumaru kept sending subtle glances her way out of the corner of his eyes.

"Kagome, do you have any children?"

Kagome's head snapped up at the sound of her name and blushed at the implications of the question. "No, much to the disappointment of my mother." She said with a wistful smile. "Hopefully someday though." She continued to thread her fingers through Rin's silky hair.

"You're very good with her." Sango commented nodding toward the sleeping child in her lap.

"She's a good girl." Kagome smiled warmly down at the child. She caught Sesshoumaru's eyes on her and blushed crimson. His eyes were so intense and they gave away very little insight as to what he was actually thinking. She couldn't tell whether he was pleased with her affection for Rin or irritated by it.

Not that she cared either way. He was still a jerk.

"You know," Miroku said looking up from his hand while Koga drew a card form the pile between them, "My offer still stands, I'm sure we could make your mother a very happy woman…"

Smack!

"Pervert." Sango said angrily as Miroku clutched the back of his now throbbing head not realizing he was giving Koga a perfect view of his cards.

Exhaling loudly, Kagome turned her head to look out the window completely missing the dirty look Sesshoumaru sent the perverted publicist.

The rest of the trip was pretty quiet. The occasional shuffling of cards, or turning of pages, Sesshoumaru's nimble fingers tapping away at his keyboard, and Rin's soft mumbles and sighs in her slumber were the only sounds filling the interior of the luxurious vehicle.

Nearly three hours after they began, the car pulled off the highway and onto a side road. 'Just in time,' Kagome thought with relief. Her butt was beginning to go numb since, as Rin's pillow, she couldn't move much.

After about fifteen minutes of driving through undeveloped countryside they came upon a tall iron gate, the ten foot fence it connected to went off in both directions farther that the eye could see. Kagome was both awed and mildly repulsed by the opulence of it. The iron was expertly crafted into a strong yet beautiful set of gates with the Sesshoumaru's monogram set in the center.

The gates opened of their own accord as the car approached, seeming to recognize their masters return. Kagome craned her neck to take in as much of it as she could, sure that this would be something she would want to tell her grand kids about one day.

She could just imagine how that story would go. 'Once upon a time there was a beautiful young girl who met a really good looking jerk who dragged her off to his castle far, far away to teach her some history and how to play with sharp knives.' How romantic.

As she watched the massive expanse of front yard go by Kagome couldn't help but feel a little removed from reality. Just yesterday she was a normal university student living in a dinky little one bedroom apartment with her obese cat Bouyo, and today she was being whisked away into the lap of luxury to prepare for her upcoming role in a movie. Life is weird sometimes, and it always seems to throw a curve ball when your expecting a slow pitch.

The drive way alone seemed to go on for ages. Kagome craned her neck around the best she could, but couldn't catch a glimpse of the house until they were halfway down. She was sorely tempted to climb through the sun roof to get a better view, and she would have too if Rin weren't anchoring her to the seat.

Finally she saw it, looming before them like an ornamental mountain of brick, stucco, and glass. It was easily the biggest house Kagome had ever seen in person.

It was like watching lifestyles of the rich and famous, only in person.

The smooth blacktop driveway circled around in front of the huge double oak doors. A huge fountain sat in the center of the circle, a huge white marble statue of a wild dog adorned the center while jets of water erupted all around it. The dog's fangs were barred and its claw clad front paw was raised in a defensive manner.

It was actually kind of disturbing. Perhaps Sesshoumaru Takishima was more of a sadist than she first thought.

Rin stirred from her slumber and sat up yawning and wiping at her chin with her sleeve. Kagome noticed surreptitiously that she now had a nice round wet spot on her left jean clad thigh where the little girl had drooled.

"Did you have a good nap Rin?" Kagome asked ruffling the child's sleep flattened hair with a smile.

"Uh-huh." She yawned again rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Are we home?"

"Either that or Buckingham Palace." Kagome teased looking out the window again, waiting for the car to stop.

"What's a buk-in-ham place?" Rin asked sleepily.

"Never mind. I was just being silly."

"Oh." Suddenly the little girl brightened and began bouncing happily in her seat as she threw off the last of her sleepiness. "Is uncle Inu here?"

"He should be." Sesshoumaru said gruffly with a slight scowl.

"Ah, so Inuyasha decided to do the film after all?" Miroku straightened his slightly travel rumpled shirt as the door to the limo was opened for them.

"My brother may be an idiot, but he is not so stupid as to turn down my offer."

Kagome climbed out of the back of the car stretching like a sleepy cat and stamping her feet to get the blood flowing again. 'So he has a brother.' Kagome thought with interest. 'If I'm lucky maybe he'll have all his brothers looks and none of his attitude.'

"SESSHOUMARU!" A gruff voice billowed as the front door was roughly jerked open to reveal a very angry looking young man with long black hair and gorgeous whisky amber eyes. The same eyes as Sesshoumaru.

'Great,' Kagome thought with a pout. 'Same good looks, same bad attitude.' Inuyasha seemed to be taking a more verbose form of attitude delivery where Sesshoumaru used the icy glare method.

"Where the hell have you been!" He shouted, his dark braid swinging back and forth as he bounded down the front steps in a single well placed leap. It was impressive, Kagome would have broken her leg for just thinking about trying something like that. "I've had to put up with that pansy assed nut case for over an hour now. You better be paying extra for…." Inuyasha trailed off as he caught sight of Kagome, who had instinctively clapped her hands over Rin's ears as soon as the profanities started flying.

"Well hello…" He said giving her a rakish smile making his eyes light up. He was every bit as handsome as Sesshoumaru, though he was a bit more rough and tumble than his refined brother. He thrust his hand out to the beautiful raven haired young woman who was blinking owlishly at him. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck, very cute. "Inuyasha Takishima," He announced lifting her hand to his lips. "and you are?"

"Uh…" Kagome continued to stare at the young man causing his smile to widen. She shook herself and finally choked out her name. Luckily she was saved any further embarrassment by Rin.

"Uncle Inu! Uncle Inu!" Rin shouted with the enthusiasm only found in children and the clinically insane. The little girl leapt from Kagome's grasp and bounded right up to the dark haired man who had yet to tear his eyes away from her face.

Everyone seemed to be staring at her lately, and while it was flattering in a way it was also kind of creepy. Inuyasha was looking at her with such scrutiny that she was almost tempted to scoot behind Sesshoumaru to avoid his eyes.

"Hey there brat." He said absently patting Rin on the head. "So Sess, where'd you find this one? One of your fan girls get plastic surgery to get the part?"

And the magic was broken. There was that good old Takishima charm, perhaps the brothers were more alike than she'd first suspected. All she needed now was for the father to insult her and it would be unanimous.

"Excuse me!" She said indignantly, her hands fisting at her hips, and her eye brow twitching at his insinuation. "There is absolutely nothing plastic about me, and I sure as hell am not in HIS fan club!" She poked her finger roughly in Sesshoumaru's shoulder. He didn't budge, but grabbed her wrist and removed her hand.

Inuyasha broke into a wide grin. "I like her. We're gonna get along just fine."

Kagome sweat dropped anime style, not quite sure how to take this guy. One minute he was checking her out, the next insulting her, then acting like they were going to be the best of friends.

Sesshoumaru sighed. "Did you have a purpose for this curb side welcome Inuyasha?"

"Oh, yeah. Naraku's here already. He's at the pool ordering the staff around like he owns the place. I swear I'm gonna kill that guy before this is all said and done."

"Yes, well at least wait until we get through with filming." Sesshoumaru started up the stairs, his laptop thrown casually over his shoulder.

Rin tugged on Kagome's hand, pulling her forward. "C'mon Miss Kagome. I want you to see Rin's room!"

"Ok, ok. Show me Rin's room." Kagome laughed as she was pulled up the smooth marble stairs and into the huge dwelling.

Inuyasha threw his hand up in greeting to the others who were still stretching their atrophied limbs and pulling their bags out of the back of the car.

"Oi, Miroku," He called pulling him aside. "That girl really all natural?" He asked skeptically.

"Yeah man. It's the strangest thing. She just happened to be wandering around the lot and I had her audition. She's pretty good…what…why are you looking at me like that?"

"You don't think it's just a little strange. I mean she looks just like that picture."

"I know, it kind of freaked us out at first too."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome quite literally gasped as she was dragged through the front door. Never in her whole life had she seen so much opulence, so much beautiful marble and deeply stained and polished wood. It was rich that's for sure, but not over done or gaudy. A double staircase led up from the foyer, curving around a set of French glass doors elegantly.

"Beautiful." She whispered. Sesshoumaru smiled, obviously pleased that she liked his home.

"C'mon Miss 'Gome!" Rin shouted. "Come see Rin's room."

"Ok, lead the way."

Sesshoumaru watched as the girls trudged happily up the stairs before heading through the French doors. Jaken limped in not too long after soon followed by Inuyasha.

"Take this to my study Jaken." Sesshoumaru commanded handing the hunched old man his laptop before heading swiftly for the kitchens, his brother hot on his heels.

"So what's the scoop on the hottie?" Inuyasha asked turning to walk backward so he could see his brothers face as he spoke.

"What exactly are you fishing for Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru snapped, a little irritated at his brother for being so ambiguous about what he really wanted.

"That Kagami chick, is she …available?"

"Her name is Kagome, and no she is not …available." Why he just told his brother she was not available when he knew perfectly well that she was not seeing anyone, he wasn't quite sure.

"Damn." He said with a pout. "She's got great legs, and those eyes…man!" He commented distractedly, still walking backwards trying to keep up with Sesshoumaru. "Hey, but I'm a charming guy maybe I could …."

Wham.

Sesshoumaru smirked as his brother ran into the door frame and toppled forward. 'Idiot.'

"Kaede." He called out stepping over his brothers prone and cursing form into the kitchen.

"Yes Mr. Takishima?" The older woman had long slate gray hair pulled into a low ponytail. She wore a simple black dress, as was Sesshoumaru's preference, and was a hard worker. She served the house as a cook and took a very grandmotherly role in the family. She also took care of organizing all of the domestic chores and tasks around the house.

"Are the guest rooms ready?"

"Of course."

"Damn it Sesshoumaru, why didn't you tell me the door was there." Inuyasha grumped stomping into the room.

"I was not informed that I would be serving as your eyes now, Inuyasha."

"Shut up. Anyways like I was saying, do you think she'd…"

"No."

"You didn't even let me finish."

"Higurashi is here to rehearse for her role in the film, not to improve your sex life." Sesshoumaru snapped tersely startling his brother.

Inuyasha's stunned face suddenly turned smug, a wry smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "You have the hots for her don't you?"

"You have lost your mind, brother."

"That's it isn't it, and I thought for sure you were gay…"

"Get out, Inuyasha."

"Alright, alright…but if she don't go for you, I get second dibs on her."

"She is not a piece of meat." Sesshoumaru sighed. Inuyasha simply smirked and headed out the door.

Kaede had watched the entire exchange silently. It was rare indeed to have both Takishima brothers residing under the same roof for any length of time. Not since they moved out of their fathers house years ago. The two of them butted heads like a couple of long horned sheep fighting over a rock on a mountain side, dangerous yet still holding entertainment value.

"Is everything set for dinner this evening?" Sesshoumaru addressed the older woman after a pause to reign in his temper.

"Of course Mr. Takishima." Kaede replied in a placating manner. The next three months would prove to be very interesting indeed, especially if the boys were to be competing for the hand of a female.

"Very well. I want dinner served every night at seven in the dining hall, lunch can be buffet style from twelve to one, and breakfast will be precisely at eight after morning exercises."

"It will be done." Kaede assured him.

"Thank you Kaede." He aloud a rare appreciative smile to grace his features. "Will you show our guests to their rooms and notify them to meet in the drawing room in one hour from now?"

"Of course."

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Kagome's jaw took a dive when the sweet old lady opened the door to her room. It was as big as her apartment, and much better furnished. The king sized four poster bed was eloquently draped in rich burgundy fabric and the highly polished wood floor shone brightly.

She couldn't seem to help her self. She giggled girlishly and took a running dive onto the bed. She stretched out luxuriously on the feather soft mattress and rolled onto her back with an indulgent sigh. Kaede chuckled warmly as she approached the bed where the young woman was wallowing on the heavy silk comforter.

Kagome cracked open one blue eye to regard the older woman warmly. "I feel like a princess or something." She admitted sheepishly.

"I believe you are supposed to be feeling like a priestess not a princess Miss Higurashi." Kaede laughed lightly.

"Yeah, but can you blame me? And please, call me Kagome."

"Very well, Kagome. Mr. Takishima wanted me to inform you that he wants to meet with everyone in the drawing room in one hour. I would advise you not to be late, he can be very…temperamental at times."

"I would have never guessed." Kagome said wryly earning a smile from the older woman.

"I will see you at the evening meal Kagome."

"I look forward to it, it was very nice to meet you Kaede." The older woman bowed lightly and left Kagome to bask in the glow of her unbelievably decadent room.

This was incredible, in fact it was probably a little too incredible, Kagome thought dismally as she curled into the soft pillows allowing her eyes to drift closed.

"How am I ever going to go back to cotton sheets after this." She mumbled sleepily as her mind drifted into the blissful haze of sleep.

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"Where is she." Sesshoumaru growled irritated as he sat in the drawing room with the rest of the group. She was nearly fifteen minutes late, he had been very explicit with his instructions. Was it really that hard to obey such a simple request.

"Takishima," Naraku drawled from an over stuffed leather arm chair near the softly crackling fire place, "I didn't realize you picked up such a premadonna for the part. Late for the first meeting…very interesting."

"Shut up Himura." Inuyasha sneered at the over primped man lounging arrogantly in the corner. "No body wants to hear you runin' your mouth."

"Au contraire you little wanna be. Everyone wants to hear me, see me, touch me…that's why I am in such high demand…"

Koga's lip curled at the mans arrogance, Miroku took the high road and ignored him as did Sesshoumaru, but Inuyasha, being hot blooded as he was lunged for irritating actor.

"I'll touch you, you arrogant jack ass." He snarled diving at him, only to be caught effortlessly by the back of his shirt by his older brother.

"I will not tolerate such behavior, if you can't control yourselves…"

BAM!

Crash!

Giggle!

Everyone looked up from their respective places in the drawing room as a very disheveled Kagome burst into the room followed by a madly grinning Rin. "Sorry." She said sheepishly trying to run a hair through her thick unruly mass of black hair.

Sesshoumaru stared openly at the girl. Her hair was a wild tangle about her face, her clothes wrinkled and disheveled, the side of her face was a bit red with a soft crease running down the length of her cheek, as if she'd been leaning on something for an extended period of time. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

Rin giggled again breaking the silence. "Miss Kagome was snoring."

Kagome's slender hand immediately shot up to cover her face as she blushed cherry, her other hand absently reaching out to ruffle the little girls hair. "Thanks Rin." She said weakly. Before she could make a move to sit down or further apologize, her hands were snatched away and held closely by someone Kagome recognized immediately.

"Takishima, I must give you credit. You have done well for me." Naraku admonished haughtily as he looked Kagome over appreciatively making her blush even harder and earning a nice glare from a certain pair of amber eyed brothers.

"Naraku Himura, right?" Kagome questioned trying to break up the tension that had suddenly crept into the room, though whether it was a direct result of her tardiness or Himura's pompous words and overly forward actions.

"Ah," He purred, his cinnamon eyes sparkling with self righteousness. "So you are a fan are you?"

Kagome felt an uncomfortable jolt go through her at their contact, and an even more ominous sensation at the sound of his voice. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she likened it to women's intuition, or the way her mother always knew when she was lying, even when she was doing a really good job. However you looked at it, something about Naraku Himura made her uneasy. She shifted apprehensively and subtly tried to pry her hands free from his grip.

"Actually, I saw your picture on the cover of the National Enquirer the other day at the grocery store." She giggled lightly. "But they had you blown up like a balloon. I think the headline read something like 'Super star diet gone horribly wrong'."

Naraku's eye twitched in an irritated fashion, though eerily enough his smile remained undaunted. "Well, I guess my lawyer will be sending them another nasty letter." He smirked and took his seat in the chair.

Sesshoumaru was pleased with Kagome's reaction to Naraku's advances. The man was slime, but unfortunately he was popular slime and people would pay to come see him. There was the true nature of the beast, the money. Sadly that's what it all came down to in the end, how much they banked in the box offices.

"Since you've finally decided to join us Higurashi." Sesshoumaru stated coolly as the young woman blushed prettily and sat down on the couch next to Sango. "Perhaps next time you could grace us with your presence on time."

The meeting was brief but informative. They were to begin training the very next day. Inuyasha, as it turned out, was a stunt coordinator and a weapons expert and would be handling all of their weapons training. Since Kagome, as a miko, would need to know how to properly handle a bow and arrows an archery instructor had been hired and would be arriving in the morning.

Scripts were handed out with strict instructions to begin familiarizing themselves with it. Since Kagome had never been in a film before Sesshoumaru said that he would be working with her in the evenings on her acting skills, earning himself a knowing smirk from his brother.

After the meeting was concluded, they headed to eat in the dining hall. Kaede had truly out done herself with a wonderful meal of Oden, miso soup, and sushi. Kagome was thrilled of course at the prospect of Oden and ate with a zest that had the others casting nervous glances at her. Dinner conversation was light and happy with an occasional slap between Sango and Miroku for good measure.

Rin on her own was able to dominate any conversation, a feat which Kagome was extremely grateful for because it kept her mind occupied instead of dwelling on the disturbing gaze of Naraku that seemed to linger on her through out the entire meal.

Finally the meal was over and it was time to retire to their rooms. Naraku brushed past Kagome in a much more personal way than was necessary on his way out the door, making the poor girl shiver in response, but not in a good way. The way he smirked at her, it made her want to scrub her skin with sand paper.

Rin insisted that Kagome read her a bed time story, the older girl readily agreed.

After reading the story, Kagome passed Sesshoumaru in the hall on the way to her room.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry about earlier…being late and all." she stammered out, mentally cursing herself for feeling so flighty around him.

He simply nodded in response.

Kagome began fiddling with the ends of her hair nervously, starting to feel seriously stupid for just standing there like a bimbo. "Yeah, well…um…I'll just go to bed now." 'God Kagome, did you have to say the stupidest thing to pop into your head.'

Sesshoumaru watched with growing fascination as she seemed to be silently berating herself for something, though what he wasn't quite sure. This girl was a nuisance, and yet he couldn't seem to get his mind off her.

"I will see you in the morning Kagome." He said smoothly, inwardly smirking when she flushed slightly and nodded. She turned stiffly and headed down the hall and disappearing into her room. Sesshoumaru shook his head and walked into Rin's room to tuck her in.

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The Silk sheets were sheer divinity against Kagome's bare legs. Normally she would have been embarrassed to sleep only in a tank top, but the allure of the cool sheets was more temptation than she had the will to ignore.

Deep midnight tresses fanned across a cream colored pillow case in beautiful contrast as Kagome snuggled deeper under the coverlet, mildly disgusted with herself for feeling all fuzzy about the pitiful excuse for a conversation she'd just had with Sesshoumaru in the hall.

'He must think I'm such a ditz.' She thought dismally. Why did he effect her so strongly. It couldn't be his looks. Technically Naraku Himura was a handsome man as well, but he didn't make her feel fuzzy, he made her feel dirty and unsettled.

Sighing lightly, Kagome decided to not to dwell on her creepy costar, opting instead to drift off thinking of the subtle intensities of a certain pair of amber eyes.

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Deep in the night, while all other occupants of the house were sleeping soundly, Naraku Himura sat straight up in his bed. He felt like he was waking up for the first time in hundreds of years. Images from dreams long forgotten flooded his conscious mind with a startling intensity, dreams that were once memories. Memories from a time long forgotten, a story that didn't have an end. Or at least not yet.

The image of a beautiful young woman with flowing black hair and startling blue eyes flashed before him. She was crying over the dying form of her lover, pure anguish exuded in her every detail, but it only served to make her more beautiful.

Yes, she was beautiful. And she was his for the taking.

In the dark, in the night, Naraku Himura began to laugh madly.

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AN: Dun dun dun! ( insert evil laughter, cue the lights, and that's a wrap) heh heh. There it is another chapter, and our plot begins to thicken. So, what do you think? Good, bad, moving too slowly? Next chapter will have some fluff I think. Thanks to all of you out there that left me such great reviews! I don't think I read one review that didn't make me feel all fuzzy! -! Super big colossal thanks to my beta Avid Reader! You're the best. Another chapter coming up soon, but until then…Ja ne!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See chapter one, I just don't feel like saying it again. .'

AN; Hola people! I usually do this at the end, but I wanted to make a couple of things clear before you read this chapter. In this chapter Kagome and Sesshoumaru start having strange 'visions' or 'flashbacks' if I may. I'm going to do my best to keep it as clear as possible, but for some reason I'm having trouble getting italics to cross over from works to word so I can up load it. Anyways, just to try to keep things easy to read I have put flash backs in . There are also some parts of the script in here and for those who are not familiar as to how scripts work all "stage directions" and descriptions are in . Also I have used some vocab words to boost your brain '.

Kendo- Japanese style sword fighting

Bokken- a wooden sword

Kote- armored gloves used in kendo to protect your hands (and believe you me they are very useful, I've had my knuckles busted more than once with a bokken and it hurts! --!)

Barre- the bar used in ballet (not a misspell)

I'd also like to say, Holy hell look at all those reviews! Yeah, thanks so much and keep them coming! I've never read so many encouraging reviews! I love it! Just to answer a few questions; yes this is definitely a sess/kag, yes Rin is adorable isn't she, and no this isn't exactly a reincarnation story, but I'm not giving any details because it would spoil the climax and you would all be left very …unsatisfied! (he he he!) anyways, without further adieu….

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The Final Bow

By: Undecidedly Certain

Chapter Four

Dojos and Dancing

Morning dawned warm and inviting as the glorious golden fingers of sunlight caressed Kagome's face, gently coaxing her into wakefullness. She stretched languidly, reveling in the wonderful feeling of waking up wrapped in silk.

Beautiful blue eyes blinked opened lazily, a languorous smile drifting across her face as one slender hand reached up to push her bangs out of her face. She had been having the most wonderfully unusual dream. Yes that's right it was wonderful and unusual. Ok, it was down right weird, but it left her with such a warm fuzzy feeling even though she couldn't quite pull all the details from her sleep hazed mind.

She remembered standing in a beautiful field of flowers on a beautiful sunny day, real fairy book stuff. Even though the more important details seemed to be fading faster than a tan in a can, Kagome could remember the strangest things in such detail if she didn't know better she would have though it was real.

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The warm springy grass under her bare feet, the gentle breeze threading its fingers through her unbound hair. She was waiting for someone, though she couldn't quite remember who. She was nervous, not really sure whether he would come or not. The fragrent wild flowers lightly perfumed the air with their sweet aroma. The sun was beginning to set. She had been waiting a long time. Her hair was down, he preferred it like that so he could run his hands through it.

The knot of anticipation welling up in the pit of her stomach was swelling to almost painful proportions. He wasn't coming. She came as soon as her duties were through, she wanted…no needed to see him. She had to tell him before it was too late. He told her he wouldn't be here. He said he wouldn't come…said he didn't want to … he didn't need her.

Kagome knew better. She knew he didn't mean those things. She told him she would be here, waiting for him. She just knew he would come. Yet here she was, standing in the meadow alone. She felt her heart aching, but would not allow her tears to fall. Not for this.

Just as the sun was about to take its final bow over the horizion she felt him approach from behind her.

"I told you I wasn't coming." His warm breath caressed her ear, she still hadn't turned to look at him.

Kagome's eyes fluttered closed as she felt his arm slide around her waist and pull her close to his armored chest. "And I told you I would be waiting." She replied as a single tear leaked from the corner of her eye creating a salty trail down her cheek.

The strong arm around her waist tightened possessively as the long, graceful, yet deadly fingers of his other hand traced a gentle path from her earlobe to her collar bone sending shivvers of delight through her. He was more than capable of killing her in at least a dozen ways, but she held no fear of him.

"What have you done to me?" He rasped huskily, his warm breath fanning over her overheated skin.

"You know I have done nothing." She breathed, her head falling back to rest on his shoulder.

His lips connected softly with the side of her neck wrenching a broken gasp from the raven haired young woman as the last sliver of sun dipped beneath the tree line leaving the lovers in dusky twilight. She felt the gentle rasp of his tongue against her skin before he paused.

"I do not want you woman." He growled fiercely, his lips still firmly attached to her shoulder.

Kagome nearly whimpered at his teasing. His words and his actions were sending her two completely different signals, the man who she knew was always so confident, so self assured was for once obviously confused.

"If you do not want me, then why did you come?" She barely whispered, not sure she wanted the answer or not.

He hesitated.

She tried to pull away, but his grip on her only tightened all the more.

"I…need you."

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Kagome frowned looking up at the rich fabrics draped across the canopy of her bed. She didn't know why she had such a fuzzy, cuddly feeling worming its way through her chest. She didn't even get to see the guy, and 'I need you' isn't exactly the heartfelt confession of love that every little girl hopes for, but for some reason she felt like it was better somehow than any 'I love you' could ever be.

The nagging disappointment of not getting to finish her dream caused a jolt of cruel reality surging through her. She obviously had gone too long with out a boyfriend if some simple necking in a dream left her wanting.

"Am I really that pathetic?" She questioned herself as she slid out of bed bonelessly. She took a glance at the clock, noting with a groan that it was not even seven yet. Her alarm was set to go off at exactly 6:55, about ten minutes from now. What was she doing up when she still had ten minutes to sleep and what in Gods name had woken her up from that wonderful dream to begin with?

She stood there trapped in her sleepy haze, unable to decide whether it would be worth the effort to drag herself back into bed for only ten minutes. Sesshoumaru had given them explicit instructions last night in the drawing room that training would begin at seven sharp, no exceptions.

What a slave driver. Seven o'clock was just too early for her. Well, just because he was technically the 'boss' didn't mean she wouldn't push her limit's a little.

She was so engrossed in her sloth like behavior, her pre coffee morning ritual that she just stood there in a daze when her door was unexpectedly thrown open by a pink footie-pajama clad Rin hugging the effigy of a small white dog.

Sesshoumaru walked by her open door casting a passing glance at her. Then stopped short nearly toppling forward when he did a sharp double take. Kagome raised a brow at him as he stood behind Rin in her open doorway staring at her with a very uncharacteristically shocked look on his face.

'What's his problem?' She thought grumpily as his eyebrow raised in response. Her quizzical look turned to a frown when he began to smirk.

"What?" She snapped running her hands through the thick mass of hair that was wildly disheveled and pulled it over her shoulder. "You never seen a woman before she's had her coffee?"

Rin giggled and hugged her stuffed dog. "Miss Kagome has pink undies like Rin, cept Rin's gots Barbie on them."

Kagome's grumpy look turned thoughtful as the childs words began to sink into her muddled brain. How would Rin know what color panties she had…unless…Oh hell.

Sesshoumaru had to bite back a laugh when she realized exactly what he was staring at. He was shocked at first to see her in such a state of undress, not that he was complaining mind you. The way her tank top left her shoulders bare to his gaze and the entirety of her shapely legs exposed before his eyes straight up to the gentle swell of her hips. He hadn't thought Higurashi to be quite so bold, but when she shot him such a confused look he knew she had not realized she was barely covered.

When she ran her hands through her hair and pulled the heavy silken strands over her shoulder he had to bite back a groan. How such a simple act could be so sexy was beyond him. But the fact that the girl was indecently clad in only a pair of French cut pink panties and a spaghetti strap tank top probably had a lot to do with it.

He had to hold back a laugh when she realized her predicument at Rins proclamation. Her face lit up like a stop sign, in embarassment at first, then anger. She dove behind the hangings of her four poster bed, pulling the material around her tightly while snapping a glare on him.

"Honestly!" She hissed at him. "I would have expected this from Miroku, but I thought you were more of a gentleman."

He returned her glare. "And I would have expected you to have more decency than to run around in your undergarments. Training begins in five minutes, I suggest you put on something a little more….appropriate."

He started to walk away and grinned openly when he heard her quite literally growling at him. He couldn't think of a more wonderful way to start the day. Perhapse he would make a habbit of walking by her room every morning.

Sesshoumaru sighed and rubbed his temples. He really needed to find a new publicist. Miroku's particular form of perversion was obviously contagious.

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Kagome stormed down the stairs in a huff, fully clad in a pair of knit jogging shorts with twin white sports stripes down the sides, ankle socks, white tennis shoes, and a comfy white cotton tee shirt over a black sports bra.

Her cheeks were still pink with the embarrassment of the mornings events.

She wasn't exactly certain of what to expect from their training, but she was fairly certain that most of it would be physical. Everyone was already waiting in the drawing room and she felt a renewed surge of embarassment for being late yet again.

They spent an hour in the gym under the strict instruction of the physical trainer Sesshoumaru had flown in. The gym was neatly situated on the western side of the house and one entire wall was made up of huge ceiling to floor windows overlooking the ocean.

The house its self was located a good twenty feet above sea level thanks to a natural overhang so she couldn't see the waves actually rolling into shore, but the endless expanse of blue was breathtaking. She could only imagine how gorgeous the sun set would be from here, maybe she'd have to sneak back down here tonight and see.

She was curious as to how you were supposed to get down to the shore. Kagome was practically itching to get down and wiggled her toes in the soft sand and feel the warm gentle waves wrap around her ankles. She had always loved the beach, ever since she was little. The sound of the crashing waves and the gentle cry of the seaguls always calmed her and made her feel peaceful.

She was startled from her daydreaming when Giana, the personal trainer, walked over to the treadmill Kagome was using and slapped her hand down on the pannel to turn off the machine. Kagome was so stunned from the sudden stop that she tripped over her own feet, if it hadn't been for the hand rails flanking her she would have ended up flat on her face.

"Time to change." Giana shouted in her thick Austrian accent. Kagome scrambled to regain her composure before moving over to the rowing machine beside Sango.

"Begin." Giana shouted slapping the wall with something that looked disturbingly like a riding crop.

Kagome's eyes widened and she quickly began pulling back on her 'oars'. Surely Giana wouldn't hit them with that, though watching the way she meandered among them making sure they were pushing themselves Kagome had to wonder.

The woman was kind of scary, like a female Arnold Schwartzeneger only not all that feminine. She was very built, almost disgustingly so, like those girly body builders. All muscle and no…feminine charms.

Giana walked toward Kagome and she immediately began to row faster. She did not want to piss that one off.

Everyone had shown up for the morning workout except for Sesshoumaru. She vaguely wondered where he was as her arms began to burn with her efforts. Probably thinks he's too good to work out with us 'lowly pions', she thought bitterly.

Even Inuyasha had shown up, though by his bedraggled appearance and incoherent mumbling Kagome guessed that he was even less of a morning person than she was.

"Stupid girly exercises." She heard him grumble from the stair machine he was currently working on.

Unfortunately for him Giana happened to be walking by at that exact moment and whapped him good across the backside with her riding crop. He yelped like a startled puppy and Kagome was at a loss as to whether she should snort with laughter or gasp in horror.

One glance out of the corner of her eyes at Sango showed she was having the same problem. Koga, however, had no qualms over laughing at the poor guy and Ayami, who was spotting for him on the bench press, was doing her best to shush him.

"What the hell was that for?" Inuyasha shouted indignantly, though a heated blush had spread across his cheeks.

"You vant nice buns, you climb stairs." Giana told him while tapping her crop in her hand. "So climb."

"Now listen here…" he started angrily.

"CLIMB!" Giana barked, slamming the crop against the pannel of the machine.

Inuyasha sobered and immediately started climbing again looking much more awake than he had before and muttering something about 'massocist personl trainers.' Kagome couldn't quite catch all of it.

"Man she's scary." Kagome admonished to her self, starting to feel a little fatigued.

Sango was on the machine next to her and heard her quite clearly even though she was being quiet for fear of a 'spanking'. "You havn't seen anything." Sango told her with a mischievous smile. "Sesshoumaru has used her before and she loves to harass the men."Sango chuckled fondly as she took on a far off look, obviously recalling something funny. " I remember the first movie I ever worked on with Sess, Miroku was in that one too and he fell asleep on the weight bench. Oh god, its too funny to even tell, but lets just say Miroku behaves himself now during exercise time. "

Kagome giggled as her imagination ran wild with thoughts of what Giana must have done to Miroku with that riding crop of hers. Poor guy. She wondered if she left marks on poor Inuyasha's rear, then redened and turned away when she realized she was actually looking at it.

It was nice though, looked firm and…Gah! Bad Kagome! One little semi erotic dream and your staring at poor defenseless men's backsides. Still, she thought with a chuckle, it was funny to watch him get whipped.

Her laughter was cut short however when she noticed a certain pair of eyes focused intently on her. A certain pair of cinnamon hued eyes to be exact.

Kagome squirmed slightly under the intense scrutiny. Naraku wasn't exactly glaring at her, but he wasn't smiling either. Had she done something to offend him? Other than the tabloid comment that is. He certainly wasn't looking at her like that last night.

No, last night he had been too busy trying to charm himself into her good graces, and probably her pants as well. Something was different now, but she just chalked it up to P.C. S. Pre-Coffee-Syndrome.

She expected him to look away when she caught him staring like any normal person would, but he continued to watch her with no change in expression. Not even a 'good morning' smile. It was creepy and he probably knew it too. The guy was definitely weird, just looking him in the eyes like that sent an icy pang of foreboding straight through her soul.

Unable to shake the feeling, Kagome looked away. The intensity was too much and it left her feeling exposed before him, but no one else seemed to notice his strange behavior.

She only hoped she wouldn't have to spend too much time with the weirdo, but considering that technically he was her co star she couldn't hope for too much. As long as she didn't have to be alone with him.

Finally their hour was up and Kaede came in to announce breakfast. They wearily made their way up to the dining room where an absolutely mouth watering spread of fruit, toast, and eggs had been laid out on the buffet. Strangely enough, Naraku had disappeared somewhere on the trek from the gym, not that Kagome was disappointed. Not in the least.

Kagome slumped into a chair leaning heavily on one elbow with a plate of fruit and a large cup of coffee. She was tired already and if the rest of the day was as intense she would be a zombie before lunch.

Not to mention Giana was a slave driver, whips included.

That thought made her smile as she took a sip of her coffee. It might just be worth getting up so early if she got such an interesting show.

It wasn't as if she was out of shape or anything. She was a dancer afterall, but it had been nearly a year since she'd left her troup. With college and everything…well…it just got to be too much. Heh, and here she was not even a year later getting ready to be in a movie.

Maybe she really wasn't meant to be a dancer after all. She'd always thought about moving to New York and dancing full time, but Mama would be heart broken.

Kagome sighed and took a half hearted bite of melon, perking slightly when the sweet juice hit her tongue.

Sesshoumaru strode in mid-meal looking about as casual as she'd ever seen him in a pair of loose linnen pants and button down short sleeved shirt.

For some reason Kagome was having a hard time picturing him in jeans and a tee shirt, he just didn't seem the type to allow himself to relax that much. She grinned mischievously as she tried to picture him in a pair of sweatpants and a truckers cap. It was a very funny picture; him lounging around with the guys, beer in hand, watching the game, although he probably needed that more than most.

The poor guy would probably end up with a heart condition by the time he was thirty. Stress could kill just as easily as cancer now adays.

He had a small stack of papers tucked neatly under his arm and a scowl on his face. For someone who generally wore a look of indifference this couldn't be a good sign. Sesshoumaru was not happy about something.

He slapped the stack of papers down in the middle of the table making everyone jump and with out another word walked out of the room.

"Well, that was rude." Kagome commented absently picking at her plate. She wondered what had upset him so.

"Don't' worry about him." Inuyasha told her with a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "He's got a stick wedged permanently up his …"

"That's not very nice Inuyasha." Sango scolded teasingly. "He is your brother afterall. And don't talk with your mouth full."

"Keh, half brother." He sneered, then just for emphasis he shovled another bite of eggs making sure to give Sango a nice eye full.

"Ah, seafood, how charming." Ayami said wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Yeah, have some manners dog breath." Koga threw his napkin at Inuyasha. "There are ladies at the table."

"Feh." Was Inuyasha's subtle form of appologie. "Hey, the truth hurts. Even when we were kids Sess only had two facial expressions; bored and pissed."

Kagome laughed. "Don't forget cynical." She added thoughtfully. "I've seen him do that one too."

"Like you can tell the difference." Inuyasha scoffed.

"Sure you can." Kagome said honestly. "This is pissed." She turned her mouth down in the slightest scowl while the rest of her face remained impassive. "And this is cynical." Her lips curled just a fraction into a smirk.

It was such a good impression of him that it had everyone at the table rolling.

Koga snatched up one of the papers off the top of the stack with one hand, the other occupied with a piece of toast.

"What is that anyways?" Miroku asked nonchalantly leaning across Sango to grab one himself and "accidentally" brushing his arm across her chest in the process.

Sango turned an interesting shade of red and promptly pushed the pervert out of his chair and into the floor.

"It's our training schedule." Ayami said looking over Koga's shoulder "accidentally" rubbing her chest on his arm.

Kagome sniggered and shook her head, thinking how familiar the scene was, except Ayami didn't end up in the floor. Infact, Koga didn't seem to notice her attentions at all. Either he was incredibly thick headed or he was really good at pretending he didn't notice.

"Keh. Looks like you're with me this morning girly." Inuyasha said looking over his own copy at Kagome.

"Girly?" Kagome said flatly, leveling her gaze on him.

"Uh…toots." He tried again. Miroku slapped a hand to his forhead while Koga rolled his eyes.

"Toots…" Kagome repeated again her ire rising.

"Babe?" Inuyasha was sounding desparate now, Kagome looked pretty scary when she was angry.

Kagome picked up an orange from the table and nailed him in the head with it.

"Damn woman, what were you a major league pitcher in a past life?" Inuyasha demanded rubbing the angry red whelp that was springing up on his forhead. "What do you want me to call you then, if you're gonna be so picky?"

"No, it comes with the territory of having a little brother." Kagome huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "And you could try calling me by my name, or is it too many silables for you?"

"Whatever." He huffed. "Let's get going, We've got a lot to go over this morning."

"What! Now? But I wanted to take a nap."

"Too bad, Kagami."

"KAGOME! KA-GO-ME!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome found out quick that Inuyasha was definitely given the job to train them in weaponry for a reason. He was good. Really good.

The dojo was a huge building in the back yard built much in the traditional style with shoji and tatami mats, beautiful oil paintings and kanji scrolls. Unfortunately it was not air conditioned and after only five minutes in the warm, salty sea air Kagome was sweating like a pig and feeling pretty gross.

Today he was teaching her the basics of kendo and iiado. She stood with the wooden sword held limply in her hands as she watched him go through a few simple katas. He made it look so simple and graceful, and Kagome was sure she wouldn't be nearly as good.

There was some very intimidating looking armor hanging on the walls, Kote gloves, head masks, and chest guards. Kagome eyed it nervously and asked why they weren't wearing armor. Even though they were only practicing with wooden swords she imagined it would still hurt pretty good to get hit with one.

"We'll get to that eventually" Inuyasha explained. "We're just going to go over the basics and a few simple katas today. OK, go ahead and try it." He instructed raising his bokken up to where the tip pointed about throat level. "Hold your bokken like this."

Kagome adjusted her grip and raised the tip of the wooden sword. It felt awkward and uncomfortable in her hands. "Like that?" She asked somewhat frustrated at how ungainly she felt compared to Inuyasha, who seemed to hold the sword with as much ease as she would a barre.

"Uh…no." He made a bad attempt to immitate what she was doing, holding the bokken like a baseball bad and looking incredibly stupid. "This is what you're doing," he said before readjusting his grip once more and taking the proper stance, "and this is what you're supposed to be doing."

Kagome pulled a face at him, his impression of her wasn't very flattering in the least. She readjusted her grip on her bokken and tried again to mimic his pose. "Is this better?"

Apparently it wasn't, and judging from the comically blank look he was giving her it may have been worse than her first attempt. He let the tip of his psudo sword drop to the tatami mats they were training on and ran a hand over his face with a frustrated sigh.

"It's going to be a long day." He grumbled from behind his hand.

"Hey," Kagome snapped a little irritated by his impatients, "I've never used a sword before so cut me some slack. Besides won't they have stunt doubles and stuff?"

"Yeah if you really suck Sess will have to hire a double, but you still need to learn how to hold the sword for close ups and stuff." He huffed impatiently. A slow smirk spread across his handsome features. "I should have known a prissy ass girl like you wouldn't be able to do it."

Kagome's grip on the bokken tightened as her anger rose like the tide. "I'll show you prissy!" She shouted taking a swing at him.

"Whoa… hey….watch it…ow! Damn it woman it's not a baseball bat!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After Kagome's angry tirade they settled back into training, Kagome looking oddly satisfied and Inuyasha was sporting a fresh lump on the back of his head.

She finally managed to get into some semblance of the proper stance and was attempting to immitate the katas that Inuyasha was performing in example. Kagome knew hers didn't look anywhere near as graceful as his, she felt awkward and gaingly and her arms were starting to hurt. The bokken was pretty heavy after a while and she was struggling to hold it correctly.

A firm pair of hands gently grasped her hips causing her to jump and nearly drop her bokken. She made to turn around and see who was holding her, but a gentle squeeze told her to stay in place.

"Your form is sloppy Higurashi." Sesshoumaru's voice sounded soft and almost gentle in her ear, his warm breath caressing the sensitive skin at the top of her ear sending a few stray hairs splaying across her face. She had the strangest sensation of de ja vous, but her heart was pounding so furiously in her chest she really didn't get a chance to dwell on it.

His warm hands gently guided her hips until they were slightly tilted sideways, his feet working between her own to push her legs a little further than shoulder width apart. Her breath caught in her throat when he leaned against her back slightly and his hands trailed down her arms to readjust her hands.

'Get it together Kagome.' She silently scolded herself when her breathing started getting a little choppy at their nearness. 'He is just helping with your 'sloppy form'. Besides he's a ….'

All thought flew out the window when she felt a soft puff of air directly in her ear. The soft scent of his cologne made her head foggy and she was using all her control not to melt into his arms.

'Purely platonic.' she reasoned. 'He's just correcting my stance.'

"Now." He said stepping away from her. She nearly whimpered in protest. "try the kata again."

She did, and surprisingly enough did much better this time around. "I did it!" She shouted happily, beaming with pride.

Sesshoumaru smirked and turned a glare on his brother. "Incompetent as ever I see Inuyasha." He remarked dryly.

"Shut the hell up Sesshoumaru. At least I didn't feel the girl up." He shot back.

Sesshoumaru seemed unaffected by his brothers outburst, Kagome however was mortified. Not only from the whole 'feel up' comment but from the fact that it had actually affected that way.

"He was just helping me." Kagome snapped, very red in the face. "Don't make me go find Giana, perhaps you need another spanking."

Inuyasha stiffened, pink blossoming on his cheeks. "Feh. What do you want anyway Sesshoumaru."

"I simply came to tell Higurashi that her archery lesson is canceled this afternoon."

"Oh, how come?" Kagome asked, turning her big blue eyes on Sesshoumaru.

"The instructor I hired has been delayed. She will arrive tomorrow."

"Oh, ok." Kagome was a little disappointed, she was looking forward to her archery lessons. " Hey! That means I get the afternoon off right!"

"Hardly." He sneered. "You will spend the afternoon going over your script and will meet me in the drawing room at seven for acting lessons."

"Great." She commented flatly. How could someone be so gentle and sensual one minute stirring all kinds of forbidden feelings in her and then the next be brusque and rude the next making her want to demonstrate her sword skills once more. Inuyasha could vouge for their effectiveness, unorthodox as they may be.

Without another word he turned and walked out of the dojo and back toward the house. With a heavy sigh Kagome got back to practicing her Katas under the careful instruction of Inuyasha.

Finally eleven o'clock rolled around and Inuyasha called it a day for them and went to put the bokens up. His training with Naraku was next and wouldn't be nearly as tenuous, Naraku had previous experience and was pretty good.

Kagome shouted her thanks and goodbyes and headed out of the dojo to grab some lunch. She yelped in surprise when she collided with a hard chest right outside the shoji door. A pair of strong hands gripped her shoulders tightly, almost painfully to steady her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She sputtered her appologies nervously looking up to see who she had assaulted. Naraku looked down at her with the same intensity as he had that morning. He said nothing, but looked into her eyes like he was trying to look into her soul.

"I wonder where you have hidden it my little miko." he purred coldly giving her shoulders a painful squeeze.

A shiver passed through her at the sound of his voice and her vision went gray for a second as a strange vision passed through her mind. It was brief and disconnected, yet strangely familiar. Everything was black and white except his eyes, they were Naraku's eyes she was sure of it, but they were the only things that were truly clear.

_"Where have you hidden it my little miko?" his voice snarled visciously in her mind. "It is mine, it belongs to me and so do you." His cinnamon eyes flashed crimson as his lips curled revealing fangs as he slowly descended toward her face._

"NO!" She shouted breaking out of the odd delirium and pulling free. Naraku looked at her in mock concern as Inuyasha ran to the door to see what the yelling was about.

"Whats going on?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Are you alright Kagome?" Naraku asked calmly, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips. His little miko was remembering, very good.

Kagome rubbed her eyes and shook her head trying to clear it of the strange rushing sound that had taken residence in her ears. "Yeah, yeah sorry."

"Maybe we over did it for your first time?" Inuyasha suggested.

"No, I'm alright." She offered him a weak smile before heading toward the house. "Just hungry I think."

"Ok, see you later."

Kagome walked the cobble stone path to the house still trying to dispell the strange feeling that had permeated her straight to the core. It was a jittery sort of feeling, similar to the one you feel when you've drank too much coffee on an empty stomach.

That was most definitely weird, she thought absently walking toward the kitchen to grab an apple or something. Like dreaming while being awake, only not a nice dream like she'd had this morning. No, that was one of those vampire nightmares, the ones that make you wrap the blankets securely around your neck so no one can bite you while you're sleeping.

Her train of thought was disrupted upon entering the kitchen where she found Kaede busy at work putting together sandwiches for lunch. She was grateful for the distraction and immediately set to work helping the older woman.

"You don't need to do this child." Kaede gently scolded. "Don't you have work to be getting on to?"

"Yup, but I was just looking for an excuse to get out of it for a while." Kagome replied with a cheerful smile pulling a warm chuckle from the old maid.

After helping Kaede with lunch, Kagome grabbed a sandwich and started up toward her room to persue her script. She noticed Miroku and Sango sparring in the front yard out from one of the huge windows in the foyer.

Though they were both clad in sporty looking workout clothes they were using very ancient looking weapons. She was familiar with them on some level, having grown up at the shrine, though she was not exactly sure of their proper names. They were very good.

Miroku was using a traditional Shinto monks staff while Sango used a somewhat more unconventional large wooden boomerang. Back in the feudal era they were said to be made of demon bone and nearly indestructible, but of course that was just legond.

Once she reached her room Kagome flopped down belly first on her bed, sandwich in one hand, sript in the other. It was time to get down to business.

Page 1.

When Empires Fall

By Sesshoumaru Takishima

'Well isn't he special.' Kagome thought dryly quickly flipping the page to begin the story.

Page 2

_It is night. A lone figure is seen riding in the distance across the twilight landscape. The rider passes toward an encampment where a lone fire is burning, but the site seems to be emptied. We get our first glimps of our protagonist. Norihiko sits proudly on his horse clad in the armor and gi of his family and title. He has been summoned to meet with an informant retaining information about a userper planning to start a revolution in his lands. His horse paws the ground impatiently as Norihiko the great demon lord looks around for his emissary. Suddenly a cry is issued and Norihiko is surrounded by warriors from the insurgent faction._

Lead Warrior: Ryokotse sends his regards.

Norihiko: If it is treason you wish to serve, I will show you no mercy. Surrender now and I will spare your lives.

Lead Warrior: Yes, you always were an arrogant bastard. _laughter errupts from among the other warriors_ Prepare to die.

_A great battle ensues, starting first on horse back then on foot. Norihiko is victorious in honorable battle, but Ryokotse is not an honorable man. The black miko Tsubuki casts a charm on him rendering him immobile while Ryokotse is free to attack_

Ryokotse: Your time has come Norihiko, and your line will fall as will your empire, to me.

'Blah blah blah.' Kagome thought as she continued to read the evil dialect of the bad guy. Naraku would really be more suited to play the bad guy, she thought idly as she read on. Koga was too sweet to be so cruel.

Ryokotse, after the villainous speech, started to beat the crap out of Norihiko who was still held captive by the dark miko. He was too strong for her to hold long though and he threw off her control, killed Tsubuki and blasted Ryokotse , who of course escaped. Norihiko then stumbled off into the forest gravely injured to try to find his horse that wandered off sometime during all of the battle.

'Ooo…this is where I come in.' Kagome thought excitedly as she continued reading.

_Enter Miya, dressed in traditional miko garb and carrying a basket of herbs. She stumbles upon the injured Norihiko and immediately goes to tend to him regardless of the fact that he is a demon and extremely dangerous._

Norihiko: So, you have come to finish off the western lord while he is down,

miko."

_Miya drops her basket and pulls out a small dagger from her sash_

Miya: _haughtily_ And if I am?

Norihiko: I may be injured, but I will not die by the hands of a wretch such

As yourself.

_Miya uses the dagger to beging cutting the sleeves of her shirt into strips for bandages and kneels beside him to start tending to his wounds_

Miya: Please Lord Norihiko, save your high and mighty attitude for your courtiers. I have no intent to kill you, though I probably should rid the lands of your tyranny."

Norihiko: You know nothing of tyranny. I rule with an iron fist because I

Must to maintain order….

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome's head suddenly shot up off the bed from where she had dozed off. She hastily wiped at the drool spot that had dampened her script and looked over at the clock.

'Thank goodness.' She thought relieved. It was only six. She had slept most of the afternoon away. She didn't have to meet with Sesshoumaru until seven and she wasn't really hungry.

She was actually feeling kind of antsy for some unknown reason so she decided to head down to the gym and dance for a while. There was plenty of room down there and she was pretty sure she would have the place to herself this time of night.

After changing into a comfortable pair of black dance pants and a white tank top she grabbed her little portable sterreo and some CD's and made her way to the gym.

It was just as she suspected. The place was deserted. She flipped the lights on and set up her cd player and popped in a burnt disc with a mix of old music that, while not exactly popular, was great to dance to. Frank Sinatra's 'The lady is a tramp' came on first and after doing a few shoulder and neck rolls Kagome began her own interpretive mix of balet and modern jazz steps across the bare space in front of the windows.

She allowed her self to be taken by the music letting all of her stress and tension to flow out of her with her rhythmic movements. She lost track of her surroundings and even lost track of the time as she just let the music take over.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Where has that girl disappeared to now." Sesshoumaru grumbled heatedly as he stomped down the stairs looking for Kagome. She was supposed to meet him thirty minutes ago.

Just as he was about to round the corner he caught a snippet of music coming from further down the stairs. He followed the sound straight to the gym, where he was sure he would find Kagome. She really was a troublesome girl.

'If she can't start being on time…' He started his mental tirade, but was cut short at the sight he found. There, all sinewy and graceful, was Kagome. She was dancing away with out a care in the world, her eyes closed as she swayed and pirouetted rhythmically.

He was entranced as he watched her. She was beautiful, her midnight hair fanning around her with each spin, her arms creating a graceful arc before her, the gentle curve of her bosom rising with her breathing and the seductive sway of her hips. It was captivating…and he could no longer remember why he had been looking for her to begin with.

The song ended and with it the spell was broken. Kagome stood frozen, eyes still closed, as the next song began to play. It was 'They can't take that away from me.' by Ella Fitzgerald, one of his personal favorites. He had to admit, the girl had taste. Before he quite realized what he was doing he had sidled up behind the girl and wrapped one arm around her waist.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome 'EEP'ed' when the foreign appendage wrapped around her waist while a warm, comforting hand lightly grasped her own as the song began. Before she could protest she was spun out and back in and was looking quite startled into the beautiful amber eyes of Sesshoumaru Takishima.

He began to gracefully guide her around the floor, dancing so flawlessly that Fred Astair himself would have been green with envy. Kagome couldn't stop the small blush that spread across her cheeks at being held so familiarly by the undeniably handsome man, or the way her heart pounded at the way he never once tore his eyes away from hers.

They were in their own world as they danced. He was speaking her language and she was responding in kind. They flowed together like the perfect yin and yang; dark and light, man and woman. A timeless story told again and again through out the course of history.

The song was ending, much to their disappointment. As the last notes of the song were played out Sesshoumaru, with a steady hand on the small of her back, gently leaned her back for a dip. Their faces mere inches apart.

Kagome swallowed nervously, her mouth suddenly felt very dry. He gazed into her eyes in indecision for a moment before gently lowering his mouth to hers.

The butterflies in Kagome's stomach all fluttered into motion with the small movement. She allowed her eyes to close as the barest caress of his soft lips brushing across hers sent a small shock trough her.

With the first brush of their lips, so soft and careful, a success, Sesshoumaru braved a little deeper contact. This time he slanted his mouth across hers more purposefully. He couldn't explain why he was so drawn to the little slip of a woman, but he couldn't deny the attraction. It was too strong. As soon as the contact was made a violent shock almost akin to static electricity ran through them startling them both to open their eyes.

_Kagome's vision had gone gray again. Everything was in black and white, like before everything except the pair of gorgeous molten gold eyes looming before her. It was Sesshoumaru, she could tell that, but he looked different. His stylishly cut platinum hair was long, longer than hers even, and he had strange markings on his face. Two stripes along his cheeks and a cresent moon adorned his forehead, though she couldn't tell what color they were. The only thing in color and in perfect focus was his eyes. _

_They were both panting for breath, lips slightly swollen and glossed from kisses. He looked so confused and wanting, his eyes left unguarded for once the emotions he felt wracking his very soul. He was betraying himself and his hard won control and showing his emotions, the very emotions she was sure were written just as clearly across her own face. She reached a delicate hand up to gently run her fingers over the stripes on his cheek…_

Just as quickly as it appeared, the vision was gone and both Sesshoumaru and Kagome were left in confusion, Kagome's fingers still on his flawless cheek where the stripes had been just moments before.

"What…what just…did you see it too?" Kagome asked just barely above a whisper, afraid her voice would fail her.

Sesshoumaur said nothing but nodded curtly, his arms still holding them merely inches apart.

"Do you…what was that?" She chanced asking. "You had long hair and …tatoos."

He raised an eyebrow regally at her. "Tatoos?"

She nodded running two fingers delicately along his cheek. "Stripes, right here. And a crescent moon here." She placed her first two fingers together on his brow where the crescent moon had been.

Another jolt rocketed through them accompanied by another flash of black and white. Both of them jumped apart before it could materialize into anything, and everything returned to color.

"What did you do?" He demanded as the remnants of some long forgotten classic played in the backround.

"I …I don't know." Kagome said desparately, afraid of what was happening. "I don't think I did anything." He almost looked angry and this frightened her almost as much as the strange visions. "What's happening?" She whispered starting to shake slightly. She wanted more than anything for him to tell her what was going on and to hold her and tell her that it was going to be ok.

As he watched her begin to tremble slightly Sesshoumaru felt the overwhelming urge to comfort her. He quelled the urge as quickly as it sprung up, if physical contact was spurring this to happen then it would be best to avoid it as much as possible. Yet these strange feelings welling up in him were incredibly strong, whatever was happening was starting to get to him. He didn't like it.

Every survival instinct within him was screaming at him to get out of there, the girl was a danger to him and his sense of sanity, but one look into those frightened blue eyes was all it took. "Perhapse it was nothing." He suggested. " A strange coincidence fueled by exhaustion."

It was a weak hypothesis and they both knew, but desparate times call for desparate measures and they were both shaken from the ordeal.

"Um…" Kagome said tennatively when the awkward silence became too much to bare. She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "What did you come down here for anyways?"

"You are late." He answered simply.

Kagome took a look at the clock and gasped. It was eight o'clock already. "I'm so sorry!" She gushed grabbing up her script and sterreo. "I guess I just got carried away. Do you want to go now?"

He nodded and they headed up the stairs in silence. Kagome fiddled nervously with her script wondering if she should tell Sesshoumaru about what happened earlier with Naraku. Technically this was the second time this had happened today.

No, she decided. What if it really was something happening to her, maybe she was losing her mind. For some reason she didn't want him to think so. What ever was going on she needed to find out and she needed to find out soon. Maybe it was time to give gramps a call.

' OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AN: Well, there you go! I hope you guys like it, I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with it though. I dunno, maybe I'm just tired. Who knows, but hey let me know what you think! I love reading reviews, it inspires me to write faster (Hint, Hint!) ! If you guys review a bunch I might even try to have the next chapter out before next week! Untill then …Ja ne!


	5. Chapter 5

AN; Sorry it's taken me so long guys ( Author ducks rotten vegetables) Hey! I just painted that wall! Anyways, its been a long...well a long time. Sorry bout that. My motivation to continue with this sort of comes and goes. Some days I feel all inspired and others I feel like I'm wasting my time. Sigh. Well, anyway...we shall perseviere.

The Final Bow

By; undecidedly certain

Chapter Five

Denial of Sentimentality

Before the sun had even risen the next morning Sesshoumaru found himself in the dojo with his sword mercilessly pushing his body through the katas over and over again. The deadly dance was exhausting and his muscles burned with the effort, but he was willing to do what ever it took to keep himself away from his troublesome dreams.

Swinging the heavy double edged steel fiercely through the predawn quiet gave him a sense of power. The sound of the blade and his heavy panting breaths the only noise above the gentle chirping crickets and the distant roar of the crashing waves.

He paused and walked over to the open shoji door and leaned heavily in the door frame. Tonight was the new moon and being out in the country meant there were no obtrusive city lights to block out the stars. The sky was absolutely littered with the sparkling entities, more than you could count in a life time.

He couldn't help but wonder as he stood there how many of those stars had actually ceased to exist, only the memory of their lives still burning across the galaxies.

Sesshoumaru if anything was not one who liked to be confused about things. He liked order and control, two things his life was seriously lacking currently and it all seemed to be revolving around one person. Kagome Higurashi.

Well, maybe that's not entirely true. He had been having the dreams for as long as he could remember, though the names and the face were missing, the story was always the same. It wasn't until she appeared that they started bleeding over into the waking hours of his life though.

He thought that if he wrote it down they would go away, that he could find some absolution. Fate was not that kind. They did seem to grant him peace for a time, but the corporeal workings of his inner mind had proved too much of a temptation, so he transposed the story from his dreams into the script they were now working on.

The tale was closely related to the old legend of the Shikon no Tama, only much more detailed. The actual legend was missing an end and there was only one picture of the jewel itself. The portrait hung in his study behind his desk actually, he had bought it as soon as he found out about its existence.

The original owner had demanded an outrageous amount of money for the ancient oil painting, but Sesshoumaru had readily paid it. He felt the need to posses it. Just as he now felt the need to posses Higurashi.

He had known from the moment he first laid eyes on her that she would be troublesome, but he hadn't known to what extent until yesterday. Since the day of her audition at the studio his dreams had returned full force, though instead of the bloody battle fields and fights that once plagued him his night time visage was filled with slightly more peaceful and sometimes sensual scenes.

Yesterday was the first time those dreams had ever seeped into his waking hours though, a fact that both disturbed and fascinated him. The first 'vision' so to speak happened in the morning as he was on his way to drop off the training schedules for everyone. He had just finished his workout in the dojo and passed Naraku on his way back inside when everything went gray.

He was suddenly standing in some sort of ancient thrown room, though most of the details were fuzzy. There were a few courtiers and denizens scattering about here and there, but for the most part everything was calm. Wall scrolls and tapestries adorned the room, but he couldn't make out much more than blurs and blobs of dark and light colors.

The scene changed then, he was still in the thrown room, but there was a dark haired man bowed before him. He was speaking, but Sesshoumaru couldn't understand what was being said. It was as if he were listening through a thick pane of glass.

Something must have been said to upset the bowed man because he suddenly jerked his head up angrily. That's when Sesshoumaru noticed his eyes. Red eyes, blood red, set in a face that sharply resembled that of Naraku Himura.

The Naraku look alike was yelling something heatedly and baring what disturbingly enough looked like fangs. Suddenly a group of ancient armor clad guards came in and grabbed the man, hauling him out of the room.

Then just as suddenly as it appeared, the 'vision' faded and Sesshoumaru's world returned to color.

Then there had been the incident with Higurashi. He wasn't exactly sure what had possessed him to dance with her, but there was something about seeing her there dancing alone. He couldn't help himself, she looked so beautiful there flowing with an almost unearthly grace in front of the windows, the sun setting red over the horizon.

His body called out for her and his mind screamed to stay away. It was the most damnably frustrating thing he had ever experienced, and growing up with Inuyasha he had a lot of experience with damnably frustrating things.

She wasn't the most beautiful girl he had ever worked with, nor the most fiery, he had worked with his share of permanently pms-ing starlets. Kagome just seemed to poses the perfect balance of attitude and graciousness. She was kind, yet spirited, and it didn't hurt his opinion that Rin absolutely adored the girl.

Damn it all to hell. He took one heavy swing, decapitating a poor unsuspecting practice dummy that had been placed by the door.

Why was he having so much trouble just admitting that he was attracted to her? And why was he fighting it so much? It wasn't as if she were under age or married or even seeing someone, so what was his problem?

When he held her in his arms it felt so right. She was so delicate and petite in the cradle of his arms, she seemed to fit up against him just right. Her silky hair smelled of fresh green apples, whatever shampoo she was using was wonderful.

Oh Kami, when he kissed her he thought he might just explode. The feel of her soft lips against his. It pissed him off to no end that the stupid vision had interrupted him before he'd gotten a chance to deepen it.

Such urges didn't usually drive him to action, in fact it was rare for a woman to effect him so much. With Kagome though he couldn't seem to stop himself. The vision he had with Kagome was much different than the one he'd had earlier. It was much more simple, no words were spoken, but then again the look on her face spoke volumes.

When the world went gray at first the only thing he could really see were her eyes. They alone remained unchanged. Those gorgeous blue eyes blinked up at him owlishly as the rest of her face, while still in shades of gray, started to come into clear focus.

She looked almost exactly the same in the vision as she did in real life. If he hadn't been paying attention he wouldn't have noticed the subtle differences. Her hair, while maintaining that incredible silky texture, was longer, past her waist from what he could tell and she had a fairly fresh cut down her left cheek, though it seemed to be healing quite nicely.

Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were glossy and slightly parted from his kiss. Apparently visionary Kagome and real Kagome were partaking in the same carnal activities.

The most startling fact though was that she experienced it as well. It could have easily been explained away if it was one sided as simple stress induced delirium, but when you add a second variable to the equation it threw the whole hypothesis off kilter.

Something strange was happening, but what?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome had been staring at the ceiling for the past forty-five minutes trying to interpret her strange dream, but the only thing she'd been able to figure out was that there was a hairline crack in the perfect enameled paint job of the ceiling. With a groan she looked over at the large red numbers on the digital alarm clock by the bed.

6:30, still ungodly early by Kagome national standards, but Gramps would be up by now. He was always up and ready to open the shrine by seven, and she needed to talk to mama anyways. Mama would say something to make her feel better, somehow she always knows just what to say even when she doesn't know the situation.

With a groan Kagome slid out of bed and pulled on her clothes. Last night after the 'silent film incident' as she was now referring to it, Sesshoumaru had gone over voice projection and stage presence. Most of it she had already heard before in drama, though there were differences between stage acting and film acting.

For starters even though the golden rule 'acting is reacting' is universal, you don't have to ham it up so much on film because the camera picks up all the subtleties of reality.

The lesson was brief, both of them were obviously distracted and not really into it so Sesshoumaru called it a night after only about thirty minutes. Much to her disappointment he seemed to be blatantly avoiding any kind of physical contact with her.

'Stupid visions.' She thought with a scowl as she made her way down to the kitchen in search of a phone. It couldn't have waited just five more minutes so she could have enjoyed her kiss. Well, maybe ten more minutes.

Just thinking about made her face warm and those annoying butterflies in her middle start wiggling around again. Kagome placed a hand over her stomach with a frown, stupid butterflies.

She didn't know why she was getting all hot and bothered about it anyways, it wasn't as if she liked Sesshoumaru. Ok, so she was mildly attracted to him, but who wouldn't be. Besides, he would never go for a girl like her, not seriously anyways and she was in no way going to be used. She didn't need a heart break like that.

Then there was also the little matter of Rin's mother, who ever and where ever she was. Come to think of it she had been there for nearly three days now and as far as she knew there had been no contact from Rin's mother.

Now that she really thought about it Rin had never mentioned her mother. She pushed the thought aside for later pondering as she stepped into the quiet kitchen to use the phone.

The kitchen was large enough to accommodate for a large house party, yet set up complete with a kitchenette set and a breakfast bar. Kagome wished they would eat in here instead of in the formal dining room. It was so much more cozy in here.

She grabbed the phone that was on the wall and hopped up on the black marble counter top, leaning sleepily back against the pristine white oak cabinets. Hopefully Gramps wont be out on the grounds yet.

-Ring-

'I wonder if mama's up yet.'

-Ring-

'come on, come on'

-Ring-

"Hello." A very groggy and irritated voice sounded on the other line.

"Sota? What are you doing answering the phone?" Kagome asked her brother.

"….."

"SOUTA! Wake up!"

"Wha…Kagome? What's wrong? Why are you calling in the middle of the night?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, was she that bad in the morning? "It's not the middle of the night Sota. Its just really early. Is Grandpa up?"

"…ZZZZ…."

"SOUTA, put grandpa on the phone."

"Huh…oh sorry, hold on………GRAMPS PHONE!" Her brother yelled with out giving her the courtesy of covering the receiver before he started screaming.

"Thanks Sota, Why don't you yell a little louder next time, I don't think the neighbors heard you."

"Don't be stupid Kagome, you know we don't have any neighbors."

"Hello, Higurashi residence may I help you?" The gentle voice of her mother wafted across the line promptly followed by a grunt and a click as Sota hung up.

"Hey mama."

"Kagome? Is everything ok dear? You aren't usually so coherent this early in the morning."

"Yeah, everything's fine." _I think_. "I just needed to ask Grandpa something."

"Oh, ok. Well he's outside opening up the gates right now, but he should be right back in. So, tell me sweetheart, how is everything going? Is it fun being a movie star?"

"Mama, I'm not really a movie star, but everything is going fine. We're doing a lot of ancient weapons training. The movie is set back in the feudal ages so we have to know the history and all that."

"Oh that sounds interesting. Don't tell grandpa, you'll never get him off the phone."

Kagome giggled. "I know." Her grandpa could be a little long winded when it came to things of old. She learned at an early age how to tune out his seemingly endless ramblings.

"So how is the sea side estate?" Mama asked curiously. Kagome could hear the tell tale bubbling of the percolator in the back round and the sound of eggs being cracked and dumped into a hot frying pan.

'mmmm, that sounds good.' "Oh, mama it's beautiful. The room I'm staying in is huge and the bed, oh Kami mama I don't know how I'm gonna go back to my lumpy old mattress and cotton sheets after this."

The warm lilt of her mothers laughter warmed Kagome from within and she actually felt a twinge of homesickness. "Well I'm sure once you're rich and famous you can afford to buy your self a new mattress and some fancy sheets. You were in the paper you know."

"What! Really?"

"Yes," Mrs. Higurashi commented. " Yuka brought us over a copy, she was very excited about it, she's a very loud girl at times. Oh, she wants you to call her by the way."

"What did it say?"

"What did what say dear?"

"The paper mama!"

"Lets see here," the crinkling of paper registered over the line, "ok, right on the front page, there's a picture too, you look very pretty in that pink top with the little flowers…"

"Mama." Kagome asked in exasperation.

"Sorry dear, the head line reads 'Starlet or harlot, Kagome Higurashi beats out Kagura Cain for role in the next Takahashi block buster.'

"OH MY GOD! Mama , please tell me your joking."

"there's more dear, it says 'spurned superstar accuses newly discovered actress Kagome Higurashi of sleeping her way into the role.' Well, it goes on from there but that's the gist of it. Apparently Ms. Cain is a little put out about not getting the part in the movie."

"Oh mama." Kagome could feel her embarrassment and anger rising. It was too early in the morning for this, and her mother was telling her all of this in the same manner as she would announce what she was making for dinner. "Why would she say something like that? I've never even met Kagura Cain!"

"Now now sweetheart, don't take it too personally. I'm sure she didn't mean it like that."

"How else could she have possibly meant that?"

"She's just jealous."

Kagome could feel the beginnings of a headache forming and rubbed her eyes aggravated. "Well at least tell me what paper it was so I can go buy up every copy before my reputation is any further destroyed." She said miserably. She couldn't believe how well her mother was taking this.

"We don't usually get this one," Her mother commented off handedly and more paper crinkling could be heard. "It's the 'Tokyo Starr'. Your picture made the front page too. Who is the handsome young man with the blonde hair?"

"The Starr." Kagome said flatly, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. "Mama, that's just one of those trashy tabloids, I bet Kagura didn't even say those things, and Sesshoumaru has blonde hair, but I don't know when they would have taken a picture of us."

"It looks like your getting ready to climb into a limousine… and there is the most adorable little girl standing there with you…"

"Oh, that's Rin." _'I didn't know there were photographers there_!' "She's Sesshoumaru's daughter and she is absolutely precious mama." Kagome fondly of the little girl.

"Oh, so he's married then." Mrs. Higurashi sounded disappointed. Kagome sighed, she knew where this was going.

"No mama, he's not married."

"Really?"

"Mama, is grandpa in yet?"

"Yes dear, but you know…"

"Yes mama, I know the 'I want grandchildren before I die' speech by heart."

"I just want you to be happy, dear."

"I know mama." _and you want grandchildren to make you happy._

"I love you."

"I love you too mama. I'll call again as soon as I can."

"Ok baby, here's grandpa."

Kagome sat quietly for a minute as she heard her mother telling her grandfather that the telephone was for him over the sounds of breakfast cooking.

"HELLO." Grandpa yelled into the phone. Kagome made an exasperated face at her grandfathers telephone skills. The old guy never did care much for the 'cursed contraptions' as he called them.

"Hey gramps, its Kagome." Kagome called into the receiver while holing it away from her ear for self preservations sake.

"KAGOME?"

"Yes Gramps. I wanted to ask you a question…"

"I WANT TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU YOUNG LADY! YOU HAVE DISGRACED OUR FAMILY SLEEPING WITH THAT MAN AND PUTTING IT IN THE PAPER. I HOPE HE PLANS ON MAKING AN HONEST WOMAN OUT OF YOU!"

'Oh sweet merciful heaven.' "Grandpa! I didn't sleep with him!" Kagome shouted back into the phone. "That's a tabloid paper, they make up junk like that all the time!"

"WHY WOULD THEY PRINT IT IF IT WASN'T TRUE?"

"That's what they do grandpa, its like printed gossip. Think about it, I haven't even known him for a week! Now I have a serious question for you. What do you know about visions?"

"VISIONS YOU SAY?"

"Yes, grandpa, visions." Kagome sighed rubbing her temple.

"WHAT KIND OF VISIONS, THERE ARE MANY KINDS. THERE ARE VISIONS OF THE FUTURE, VISIONS OF THE PAST, THEY CAN BE LINKS TO A PERSON OR A PLACE…"

"I don't think its from a specific person, because I've had the visions about two separate people and only while in their presence. It seems to be spurred by physical contact."

"HMMM. VERY INTERESTING, BUT YOU ALWAYS WERE A SENSITIVE CHILD. PERHAPSE YOU ARE PICKING UP ON SOMEONES PAST LIVES OR PERHAPSE IT IS THE GHOSTS OF PEOPLE ONCE RESIDING IN THAT HOUSE."

"Maybe," Kagome wasn't too sure about the whole past lives thing. That just seemed a little far fetched, not to mention the fact that the people in her visions looked almost exactly like they did now. That just seemed a little coincidental, but Kagome never did hold too much stock in grandpa's theories. "Hey, you know that book with the legend of the Shikon no tama?"

"AH THE JEWEL OF FOUR SOULS, YES I KNOW THAT ONE QUITE WELL. IT IS SAID THAT OVER FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO…."

"Yeah grandpa, that's the one, can you send me the book?"

"YES, I'LL HAVE YOUR MOTHER MAIL IT OUT LATER TODAY. A VERY INTERESTING STORY THAT ONE IS, AND ODLY ENOUGH THERE'S NO ENDING. IT ALL STARTED…"

"Well, I've got to go grandpa. I love you."

"THERE WAS A GREAT DEMON LORD…"

CLICK

Kagome sat there looking at the phone for a few minutes with a wistful smile on her face. She wondered how long it would take gramps to realize she wasn't on the phone anymore.

Ok, ok, so maybe it was just a itsy bit disrespectful to just hang up on him like that, but she didn't have all day to listen to him, and he really could go on all day once he got started.

"Mmmmm. Eggs sound really good right about now." She commented to the dark, empty kitchen. It was nearly seven now, might as well start breakfast for everyone. It would give Kaede a break for once, and she enjoyed cooking every once in a while. It's a great way to clear you mind.

She dug around for a while through cabinets for a while until she found a couple of big frying pans. She pulled the eggs and a package of bacon and a tub of butter out of the huge stainless steel side by side fridge, noting with a hint of cynicism that the refrigerator had no magnets on it. What kind of person didn't put magnets on their refrigerator?

Humming light heartedly Kagome set to work cracking eggs and dumping them into the hot frying pan liberally lined with melted butter, sighing happily as the wonderful smells of breakfast cooking assaulted her nose.

The back door was suddenly flung open, making the poor girl yelp and nearly dropping her pan of eggs. There in the doorway was a very disgruntled looking Sesshoumaru.

A very disgruntled and very shirtless Sesshoumaru. Luckily Kagome caught herself before she dropped all of her hard work on the pristine tile floor and her little balancing act saved her the embarrassment of drooling in front of him.

"Morning." She flashed him a nervous smile.

"What are you doing?" He asked calmly moving toward her. He had on a pair of drawstring linen pants, a tee shirt of some sort draped over his shoulder. The smooth muscles of his torso rippled slightly with his movements. Kagome had to bite her cheek hard to stop herself from staring.

She shot him a bemused smile before turning to flip the eggs. "You really are spoiled if you don't know what cooking looks like."

He draped his shirt over the back of one of the high backed bar stools. "I am quite familiar with the act, what I want to know is why you are cooking when Kaede is perfectly competent in the kitchen."

"I am well aware of Kaede's culinary skills." Kagome said, a little irritated that he was being such a pain. " I just felt like cooking this morning and I figured she would like a break." He simply raised an eyebrow mockingly at her. She seriously considered taking the spatula and flinging the eggs at him.

'No!' She made up her mind right then and there, she was going to take the high road. She placed the pan back down on the stove and turned to face him leaning over the bar. She placed her chin in her elbow and looked into his face searchingly.

"Do you ever relax?" She asked him seriously, narrowing her eyes as if to detect if he were lying to her.

"I have down time in between projects." He stated watching her watching him. His lips twitched in amusement when her eyes dropped to his chest and quickly snapped back up to his face.

"That's not what I asked." She said with a frown. "I asked if you ever relax. Kick back, drink a brewsky with the guys, play touch foot ball in the yard with your brother?" He gave her a disgusted look. "I bet you've never just kicked your feet up and vegged out in front of the TV have you?"

"Why would I waste my time like that when I could be doing something productive?"

"Figures." Kagome sighed and turned pulling down a plate for him and started piling on the eggs and bacon. She placed the plate in front of him and he stared at it for a minute. "Breakfast." Kagome stated flatly. "You do eat don't you."

"yes."

"Then eat up. I didn't poison it."

"Indeed." He said with a trace of amusement, but he sat at the bar regardless. He didn't usually take breakfast in the kitchen, nor did he usually eat such a heavy meal so early, but for some reason he couldn't turn her down when she was all but hand feeding him.

His morning exertions had done nothing for his state of mind and yet just five minutes with the witty young woman had calmed the turbulent storm of his emotions. She was watching him intently as he stared hesitantly at the plate of food in front of him. It looked edible enough. With an inward sigh Sesshoumaru scooped up a bite of eggs and tentatively put them into his mouth and chewed.

Kagome watched him with baited breath, waiting for some sign of approval and wondering how anyone managed to making something as simple as chewing looking elegant. At least he didn't eat like Inuyasha.

"Well?" She asked anxiously leaning forward to rest on the bar.

"It is adequate." Sesshoumaru commented before placing another forkful in his mouth.

Kagome 'hmphed' indignantly and threw the dish towel she had draped over her shoulder at him. She was aiming for his head, but he caught it easily and sent her an arrogant smirk.

"I bet you never drink out of the milk carton either do you?"

"And why would I do that?" He asked after swallowing another bite. It was actually rather good. He hadn't had a breakfast like this in years.

"Because its what all NORMAL people do when no one is around to see them being too lazy to get a glass." She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Kagome gasped as she glanced at the clock on the microwave. 6:55 am. "Oh no! I've got to go. I don't want to be on Giana's hit list."

She moved the eggs to the back burner and covered the bacon to keep it warm before heading out the door with a hurried good-bye.

Sesshoumaru stared after her for a while contemplating the girls strange behavior and why it affected him so much. Shaking his head he stood up to get him self a glass of milk. He pulled the carton out and looked between it and the glass in his hand for a moment before shaking his head and pouring a glass. He was not about to let her get to him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The morning flew by. Luckily she was on time for the mornings work out because Giana was in full form with her riding crop. Poor Miroku was behaving himself so well, she had to giggle at the way he would cringe every time she would walk by.

Naraku didn't bother to show for the work out, not that Kagome was upset about it or anything, but it was strange seeing as Sesshoumaru wanted them to be there. He was after all the one signing the pay checks around here.

Kagome was having a hard time thinking of all of this as work though, it seemed more like a structured all expense paid vacation to her.

Her session with Inuyasha that morning went much better, unfortunately she didn't get any one on one 'repositioning' from Sesshoumaru, much to her disappointment.

Actually she didn't see him at all until after lunch. She had just finished eating while the others headed in different directions to work on different skills; Miroku and Koga were headed to the dojo with Inuyasha, Sango was headed to the pool to work on her tan with Ayami, and surprisingly enough she still hadn't seen hide nor hair of Naraku.

She was standing in the kitchen looking out into the back garden where Rin was happily traipsing through the rows of carefully planted flowers and plants stooping here or there to jerk a few out of the ground roots and all. Jaken, who was apparently supposed to be watching over her, was fast asleep on the garden bench, his head thrown back and mouth wide with his snores.

Kagome watched with a smile as Rin tiptoed up to the sleeping geezer and plucked the heads off a few of the daisies she'd picked and placed them over his eyes and mouth. Jaken sucked in a shuddering breath and inadvertently sucked in the daisy as well.

Kagome chuckled as the pitiful old man coughed and sputtered and spit out daisy petals. Rin shrieked with delight and began running circles around the garden bench as Jaken started fussing at her about respecting her elders.

As she watched the child start showering the old man with flower petals her thoughts drifted to the conversation with her grandfather that morning. Should she tell Sesshoumaru what he said? No, probably better to just wait and see what happens. So far today she hadn't had anymore freaky happenings so maybe it really was just a fluke.

Wishful thinking.

"Your archery instructor has decided to join us." A smooth voice sounded behind her startling her from her thoughts.

She jumped and turned to face Sesshoumaru. He was wearing a slightly wistful expression as he watched his daughter torturing the old man. Kagome smiled warmly, it was sweet to see such a powerful man crumble to the will of a six year old with watery brown eyes.

"Does she torture all her sitters like this, or is Jaken special?" She asked with a playful smile.

Gorgeous amber eyes flickered toward her for a moment before returning to the sight of his daughter, who was now sitting on the bench next to the old man swinging her legs back and forth. "She is fond of him."

Kagome giggled and turned back to the scene out in the garden where the little brown headed girl was merrily threading daisies into the old mans thinning gray hair. He didn't look very happy about it, not that Rin noticed. "Remind me not to get on her bad side."

He gave a noncommittal 'Hn', though she could swear the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Um.." Kagome fidgeted nervously with the hem of her shirt, "didn't you say something about the archery instructor being here?"

He gave an almost imperceptible nod and turned walking out the back door. Kagome sighed and followed feeling a little miffed. She wasn't sure what his problem was, but he was acting all distant and weird. Not that he wasn't always a little distant and weird, but he usually took every chance he got to insult her in some subtle way or another.

'Gah, what is wrong with me?' She wondered as they stepped out into the garden, 'do I actually miss him ragging on me?'

Yes, as sad as it sounded she did.

"I suppose that was Sesshoumaru for 'yes, your instructor is here, please follow me lovely and talented Kagome.'" She said wryly, purposely trying to provoke him.

He said nothing and just continued walking. 'Ouch.' Kagome thought, confused at the feeling of hurt that suddenly constricted in her chest.

"Hi Miss Kagome!" Rin shouted running up to her. Kagome knelt down and ruffled the girls hair, forcing a smile on her face.

"Hey sweetie. Are you having fun playing with Jaken?" Kagome shot a glance at the old man, he was pulling assorted flowers and weeds out of his hair and shirt pockets and tossing them to the ground.

"Oh yes, Rin made Jaken pretty!" She wiggled her little finger signaling for Kagome to bend down so she could whisper something in her ear. "He is old." She whispered conspiratorially. "And he needs lots of flowers to look pretty."

Kagome sniggered. "Yes, I think your right, but flowers make everyone look pretty don't you think?"

Rin nodded enthusiastically and pushed a fat yellow daisy into the thick mass of black hair behind Kagome's ear. "Can you play with Rin?" She asked hopefully.

"I have to go learn how to shoot arrows right now, but I will play with you when I get through."

"Really?"

"Really. Now go play, and don't give Jaken too much trouble."

"Okay." She flashed her million dollar gap-toothed smile and bounded back after Jaken.

Kagome stood and turned, apparently Mr. Cold Shoulder had waited for her. He had the strangest look on his face, but Kagome was still mad at him for kissing her then acting like nothing happened. The jerk.

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him her best glare. "And just what is your problem today?" She asked once she was sure Rin was out of hearing range.

He said nothing and kept walking.

"Fine, you want to pretend that nothing happened then that's just fine with me." She said balling her fists tightly at her sides trying her best to keep the hurt out of her voice.

But she was hurt. Maybe it was just the thought of being rejected, or maybe it was the thought of being used, or maybe for some strange reason she was starting to like him.

She felt a familiar tingle at the back of her eyes as the moisture gathered in the corners. She blinked it away quickly refusing to let her be that weak over a guy. Especially a guy she had absolutely no chance with to begin with. They were just too different, they came from to totally different worlds.

Sesshoumaru stopped suddenly as they passed the dojo. She could see the archery field that had been set up in the distance, but it was still far enough away that she couldn't see who her instructor was. He turned to look at her, but she averted her eyes elsewhere.

"I talked to my grandfather about what happened yesterday." She told him tonelessly still looking away over the cliff at the ocean. When he said nothing in response she continued. "He's a priest so I thought he might have some ideas as to what would cause it. He suggested the possibility of restless spirits of people who used to live here channeling through us or even some sort of past life repressed memories. He is a little senile though, it could have just been a fluke like you said."

Sesshoumaru still said nothing. Fine, if he wanted to play like that she could do it as well. Just as she started walking away toward the archery field his arm shot out and grabbed her forearm pulling her back to him.

As soon as the contact was made a flash of black and white swam before them, but it was gone too soon to make anything out other than to discern that it had happened. She turned her startled blue eyes up to his, surprised at how lost he looked.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before he opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to change his mind. Instead he pulled her flush to his chest thrusting his hands into her hair and pulling his mouth down to cover her own. Her body seemed to respond to him of its own will and she felt her anger begin to melt away.

She relaxed into him allowing her hands to roam his well built chest and find a place to rest in the soft hair at the nape of his neck. He adjusted his hold on her, wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her closer while his other hand remained gently fisted in her hair pulling a soft moan from her. The kiss was soft yet passionate. Kagome felt light headed.

They broke apart for air and Sesshoumaru rested his forehead against hers, panting slightly, his eyes still closed. "What have you done to me?" He whispered.

Kagome stiffened in his arms as the familiarity of that voice sounding in her ears, saying those same words, crashed around her. Her dream, that's exactly what he said to her in her dream.

"You-you know I have done nothing." She barely managed to choke out in a broken whisper. She was following the script her dreams had laid out for her, playing the game. Whatever was going on it was not some sort of gostie channeling them, and it felt to familiar to be memories from a past life. And what would the chances of coming together with someone from a past life anyway? No, this was something else entirely though she had no clue as to what.

Sesshoumaru's head was spinning. This was eerily familiar. Something very odd was happening here, but his earlier presumptions about the visions being stirred as a result of physical contact seemed false. A fact he was strangely happy about.

This meant he didn't have to avoid her like he had planned, even though he probably should. The last thing he needed right now was a relationship to deal with, and he seriously doubted that Kagome was the type of girl to have a summer fling.

He couldn't do that to her even if he wanted to. She was too naive and innocent, despite her fiery tongue. Not to mention how attached Rin would become. Who was he kidding, Rin was already attached to the girl and Rin rarely, regardless of her happy go lucky nature, was not overly trusting with older women.

He knew he should stop this now before it went any further. It should have never been started to begin with and the worst part about the whole situation is that no matter how many times he tried to fault her for it he just could not. He got himself into this situation and he would have to be man enough to get himself out.

The only question now was 'could he'?

He was snapped out of his internal reflection by a delicate hand waving in front of his face and Kagome's slightly peeved voice ringing in his ears.

"Hey." She wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "What do you think your doing kissing me then zoning out and staring at me like a lunatic? You listen and listen good because I'm only going to say this once. I…AM…NOT one of your slutty little fan girls ready and willing to throw themselves at your beck and call." She emphasized her point with several sharp jabs to the chest before he caught her hand with his own. "I am here to make a movie not be your little play thing. I will not be used like that." She was panting heavily now with the force of her ire and her eyes were starting to sting with unshed tears. "I don't want to be hurt …"

The force of her words had dwindled to a nearly inaudible whisper. She didn't want to get attached and have him crinkle up her heart and toss it out like yesterdays news paper. She didn't want to fall in love, and yet it seemed the wheels were in motion and some part of her couldn't help but stir at the feel of his gentle lips on hers. Longing perhaps and loneliness, but no matter how lonely she might feel she still didn't want an empty relationship based on physical attraction.

The moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes was not lessening in the turn of her thoughts. She didn't want to cry in front of him, she didn't want to look weak and childish. Keeping her head down she tried to pull herself from his arms, but he held her steady.

Warm elegant fingers curled under her chin and tilted her head up to meet his gaze. Sesshoumaru almost laughed, even when he held her chin up so she would look at him she still averted her eyes to the side.

Tentatively she turned her gaze to meet his, it was unreadable as usual. Slowly he started bringing his face down to meet hers, and Kagome was sorely tempted to just give in and let him kiss her again, but her defenses kicked in last minute.

"Wait." She said in a broken whisper, placing her fingers over his mouth to stop him from claiming her own. "Don't do this unless it is what you really want. I can't …I don't want…If you…" Finally frustrated at herself for stumbling over her own words Kagome spit it out plain as day. "Don't lead me on Sesshoumaru, if you don't want a relationship with me then pleas don't start one you have no intentions of perusing."

Sesshoumaru looked down at the girl in his arms for a long moment. Did he want a relationship? Not really, no. He did just fine on his own, he didn't need attachments like that. With out so much as a word he detached his arms from around her slim waist and headed back toward the house.

He didn't look back, he couldn't trust himself to. If he did he would have seen the hurt spilling out of those beautiful blue eyes and it would have broken his resolve. No, he wouldn't be brought to his knees by any woman. She wanted things from him that he just did not have to give. She deserved better than what he had to offer.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AN; O-o. Angsty, eh? Sorry, didn't really plan it that way, but I didn't want them moving too fast into anything, lets be realistic here people. Besides we all know that Sesshoumaru has some serious denial problems anyway. .'. Hope you liked it, let me know. R& R , my goal is to have 1000 reviews by the time this thing is over so help me out, ne? Thanks again, U.C.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer; See chapter one. Too lazy to repeat.

AN; Hey! Did you miss me? I have noticed that this plot is incredibly difficult! It's like two stories all rolled into one entertaining and confusing package. It wouldn't have taken me so darn long to finish this stupid chapter but I was afraid it would be too confusing with the big 'visions' I threw in here, but it was important to start getting some major insights into what happened so we can get on with what is going to happen. If that didn't confuse you then you are good to go. Anyways, I hope its not too confusing. If it is I'm sure you guys will let me know. Be gentle though, I'm sensitive!

Just to remind you…everything in is a vision. And now on with the show….

The Final Bow

By; Undecidedly Certain

Chapter Six

Nocking the Arrow

Kagome dried her eyes and held herself tall. She would not cry for that egocentric jerk, not now not ever.

'How dare he use me like that!' She thought angrily stomping off toward the archery fields. Her cheeks burned with a mix of indignant anger and embarrassment. 'and that my friends is why Kagome Higurashi does not let a pretty face guide her heart.'

Upon reaching the place near the cliffs edge where the archery targets were set up Kagome noticed Inuyasha standing casually with his hands tucked into his pockets talking to a girl that looked a little older than herself. She had short, stylish black hair and a pretty smile. Inuyasha laughed a little too loud at something she said and Kagome found that her troubled thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind when she saw how much he was trying to impress the woman. He even looked like he knew he was trying too hard, but couldn't seem to stop himself. It was adorable and endearing and…so totally unlike his brother.

He didn't honestly think that we girls failed to notice the carefully applied charm and that arrogant smirk did he? He might as well try the direct approach like Miroku. Ah, well. Maybe she'd think he was cute.

"Oh and here she is…" Inuyasha started waving at her before he noticed that her eyes had a slightly red and glassy look to them. "Kagome…are you ok?"

"…yeah, of course." She lied. "just tired."

Inuyasha cast her his classic smirk. "I didn't wear you out too much this morning did I?" He waggled his eyebrows hinting at an unspoken innuendo.

Kagome managed a small chuckle at his antics and decided to play along. "No of course not, actually I was just starting to enjoy it when you pooped out on me." She held her face in the most serious pose possible for effect, but when his arrogant smirk slid sideways off his face she broke down in giggles. "Honestly Inuyasha I think you've been spending too much time with Miroku lately."

"Hey!"

Kagome then turned her attention to the dark haired woman standing next to him who was desperately trying to stifle her laughter behind a slender hand. "Hi, I'm Kikyo Niyama. Mr. Takishima hired me to teach you the basics of archery." She extended her hand, Kagome readily took it.

The woman was a few inches taller than herself and just as slender. Her short black hair was cut in a fashionable but simple cut that accentuated her delicate facial features and her warm brown eyes belied a kind demeanor and gentle spirit, but her hands were strong and a bit rough. Working hands.

"Kagome Higurashi, your willing and able bodied student." She said with a teasing smile.

"Mr. Takishima mentioned that you grew up on a shrine, are you familiar with traditional long bows?" Kikyo asked holding up the wooden bow and a small quiver of arrows.

"Oh sure Gramps has one of those hanging up in one of the sheds at the shrine. I've never shot one though."

"Ok," Kikyo said with an easy smile. "Archery isn't really all that difficult especially since technically we only need to make sure you LOOK like you know what your doing."

"Sounds good to me."

Kikyo demonstrated the proper pose and form when nocking an arrow, then letting it fly she hit the target dead center. Inuyasha, who was still hanging around for some odd reason, let out a low whistle.

"Ok, now you try."

"heh…yeah…" Kagome said nervously tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She would be lucky if her arrow didn't magically turn around and hit her… or better yet, Inuyasha. She smirked at that thought, the look on his face when the arrow turned around mid air and started zooming at him would be priceless. Bulls eye, right in the butt!

Kagome lined herself up in front of the target, feet to the side about a foot apart and her shoulders squared to the front. She was amazed at how natural it felt to hold the bow, not at all awkward like it had been at first with the sword.

She reached back and plucked an arrow from the quiver on her back in a smooth movement pulling one of the fletching feathers out with her teeth before nocking it and pulling back. She felt a slight twinge of dizziness wash over her and a flash of black and white, but dismissed it as she steadied her breathing and focused on the target.

This feels …good, she thought vaguely as she released the arrow with her exhaled breath. She felt a strange tug in her chest and a rushing sensation as her knees went weak before everything faded to black and white…

'Where am I ?' Kagome thought examining her black and white surroundings. Everything was blurry around the edges, but most of it was clear enough to make out. She was walking through a forest with some of the tallest trees she'd ever seen in her life.

'Oh, it's another vision.' She thought with an almost melancholy mind-set. 'I wonder if tattoo boy will be in this one.'

It was beautiful, truly magnificent. Of course she wasn't sure, but it looked like it was completely untouched by industry. Every here and there she could make out a swatch of color, a green patch of leaves here or a colorful bird there.

Her legs were encased in a soft swishy material that covered her like a billowy hakama, but the color she couldn't be sure of. It looked a dark shade of gray to her, but who really knows what color it was supposed to be.

In her hands she held a small woven basket, the handle draped comfortably over her arm. It was filled to nearly over flowing with different kinds of plants, all neatly separated and laid in the bottom. They looked like weeds to Kagome, but somehow she had a feeling they weren't.

'why would anyone gather a basket of weeds anyways?' She thought as she continued her little trek. 'They must be some sort of herbs for cooking or medicine.' That would at least make sense.

The scene jumped suddenly and Kagome found herself face to face with the one person she was hoping to avoid at all costs. Tattoo boy himself was sprawled at the base of a large tree, half reclining against the trunk. He didn't look too good.

The beautiful ancient Gi he was wearing was covered in dark splotches that she was quite certain were blood and the armor over his chest and shoulder was cracked and broken. His eyes were closed, pale hair soaked in dark blood and matted in places.

He was so still, he almost looked …dead. As angry as Kagome was at Sesshoumaru, the thought of him dying or even someone who just looked like him caused a painful tightening in her chest.

Tentatively, the vision version of herself, or whoever she was seeing life through the eyes of, began to move toward him.

Suddenly his blood red eyes snapped open and he bared his fangs at her, snarling viciously.

Kagome jumped a little, more because he startled her than because she was afraid of him. She didn't know why exactly she wasn't afraid of him, if he did that in real life she'd probably piss herself.

"Leave now if you value your life human." He bit out. She could hear what he was saying but it was staticky and sounded as if some one was toying with the volume knob on a radio.

'He's a demon!' Kagome realized with a slight start. 'Well, that would certainly explain the fangs and the freaky facial tattoos.'

"I believe you are in no condition to be making threats." She heard herself reply, though she'd made no attempt to speak. Talk about weird.

"You dare threaten me wench?"

Kagome waited, but her vision self made no reply. She reached inside her shirt to find a small gourd that had been hollowed. It had a stopper in the top and some sort of liquid was sloshing around inside it.

Quickly pulling the stopper, she bravely stepped toward the still growling demon. The smell of the liquid inside the gourd was strong enough to penetrate through the vision because even Kagome felt her stomach turn at the nauseating stench.

Apparently it had an advantageous function though because the demon Sesshoumaru got very angry then passed out cold.

'Hey, I wonder where I can get some of that stuff.' Kagome thought wryly as she looked at the unconscious form of her anguish.

The scene changed then spinning like a kaleidoscope of splotches of color and shades of gray only to settle into a dark room. A small fire was set up in the center of the room in the fire pit letting off a faint glow, but not enough to be considered bright.

The room was very plain. Plain wood walls with only a small rack for drying plants for ornamentation, tatami mats lined the floor, a reed mat covered the door, and a small futon lay against the back wall.

Upon said futon lay demon Sesshoumaru, apparently still out from the stinky sleep inducing liquid, only now he was bandaged and washed up. His outer haori had been removed and the upper portion of his torso had been wrapped in coarse bandages.

By far the most ghastly of his wounds though was his left arm, or what was left of it. It had been severed a few inches above the elbow, if he hadn't been of demon heritage he would have surely died from the blood loss alone.

He looked so peaceful laying there, almost angelic despite his massive injuries. A fallen angel. A ruthless, blood thirsty, predator. Ok, maybe not so angelic when she really thought about it, but he was good looking none the less. Too bad he had to go and spoil the beautiful moment by waking up.

Gold eyes snapped open amidst a sea of gray and he immediately began to growl as he looked at her.

"Foolish wench." He snarled trying to sit up, but was promptly laid back down by a gentle pressure to his uninjured shoulder. A clawed hand immediately snapped out and grasped her wrist with a painful intensity, the lethal talons gracing his long fingers biting into her skin enough to bring blood. "You dare to touch this Sesshoumaru? Do you know who I am?"

"You would prefer I left you to die Lord Sesshoumaru?" She asked calmly not bothering to struggle to free bleeding appendage knowing it would only cause more damage. "You have been unconscious for some time, would it be safe to assume that you had a run in with the dark miko? She is troublesome, no?"

"The miko is dead, by my hands." He responded, harshly dropping her wrist. He never was one for a lot of words. The strong silent type, though Kagome wasn't sure how she knew this.

"I see." She heard herself respond. "It is for the best, she abused her power and was a danger to all."

He made no response, but continued to glare at her angrily. That's gratitude for you.

Kagome sighed, actually both versions of her sighed. Even this version of the man was exasperating. "There is something you should know my lord." Kagome said idly, wrapping a thin cotton cloth around her bleeding wrist.

She poured the demon lord a cup of steaming tea and offering it to him. He pushed himself into a sitting position, sniffing disdainfully before almost regretfully accepting the tea. Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes, figuring that it would only irk him even more and push her a little closer to a painful death courtesy of those razor sharp claws.

She was by no means naïve enough to believe that she could purify such a powerful demon before he could deal a mortal blow, especially in such close quarters, though, again, she was not sure how she knew these things, but her powers, whatever they were, just didn't work like that.

"There has been an insurrection in the western citadel. The demon Naraku has declared you dead and by sheer force of his numerous minions has claimed your thrown."

He growled at this news, his grip tightening dangerously on the delicate cup in his grip. "How long have I been here?"

"You have been unconscious for nearly a week. Please do not break my tea bowl. They are not cheap to replace and in my line of work I rarely am recompensed monetarily for my services." She said pointedly.

"If you were interested in money," Sesshoumaru snarled visciously, "perhaps you should have become a whore."

"Hmm." She heard herself pondering, completely unoffended by his comment, "sadly you are correct. Yet I find myself left wanting at the thought of peddling my body to the mindless pawing of bandits and curs." She took up a cup of tea her self and felt it burn its way down her throat, though the taste was undistinguishable from that of hot water. "I have not made it known of your survival, you were gravely injured and I am sure that Naraku presumes you dead.

While I am not particularly fond of all of your scruples you are a just ruler while Naraku is a monster. He has a massive army under his command as well as what is left of your armies, those too cowardly to stand against him that is. Many have fled in your absence.

You have many still loyal to you Sesshoumaru-Sama, it may be in your best interest that Naraku think you dead. For the time being at any rate."

"I am not afraid of Naraku."

"No, and I was not insinuating that you were. It would be advantageous for you to be able to gather your faithful followers and take him by surprise though. Naraku is devious and powerful. He will not worry about honor and fighting fair."

"You insult me. A woman, a human, and merely more than a peasant speaking of war strategy and motives."

"Suit yourself my lord," she interrupted before he could continue with his social hierarchy degridadition, "but if Naraku finds that you are a live and, shall we say less than prepared for battle, he will send his every resource raining down on this village destroying everything in his path until he has your head on a platter and your other arm to boot."

"How do you know so much about Naraku?" he asked in that same infuriating imperious tone.

"I have something he wants."

The last thing she saw before gray faded to black was a faint glimmer of curiosity in those gorgeous gold eyes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Inuyasha watched in awe from were he was standing next to Kikyo as Kagome's arrow was engulfed in a blue flame as it sped toward the target. When it hit its mark the entire target was consumed with the iridescent blue flame and a shockwave of an almost static-electric power swept out from the point of impact making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and his entire body sway with the intensity of the sensation.

Inuyasha immediately grabbed Kikyo's elbow to steady her and himself as he looked in astonishment at the now ash reduced target. "Now those were some impressive pyrotechnics." He said with a grin, he turned to Kikyo who looked thoroughly shaken. "How'd you rig the arrow like that? It was amazing!" He asked. He had always liked pyrotechnics, but stuck mainly to the physical aspect of stunt coordination.

"I-I didn't." She said softly still looking at the remains of the archery target, even the targets flanking the one that was obliterated were singed and leaning outward away from the point of impact. An incredible aspect to consider, especially since the targets were placed twenty feet apart!

"What do you mean you didn't rig it?" Inuyasha nearly shouted at her. "Don't tell me Sess set up Pyrotechnics with out your knowing!"

"There's no way he could have. I set up these targets myself this morning." Kikyo said solemnly.

"Well how the hell did she do that then?" He said more to himself than to Kikyo. "Hey wench!" He hollered scratching his head and turning toward Kagome. "How the hell….KAGOME!" He ran at her just as she pitched forward toward the grass, bow still tightly clutched in her hand.

"Is she ok?" Kikyo asked in concern as Inuyasha gently turned her over and lowered her to the ground.

Kagome had gone very white and her breathing slightly shallow, but the creepiest thing about it was that her eyes were open and staring blankly at nothing, unfocused and unseeing. They also seemed to be an alarming shade of blue, brighter than usual, like the strange fire that had consumed her arrow.

"I- I don't know!" Inuyasha said checking her pulse as she lay limply, half her body resting against him. "Her heart beat is strong, but her breathing seems a little shallow."

"We need to get her to the house." Kikyo said trying to pull the bow from the girls grip without success. Kagome was not going to let it go.

"Right." Inuyasha agreed, meeting Kikyo's frightened brown eyes and giving her a consoling smile. "I'm sure she's ok, probably just scared her into a faint. She's tougher than she looks, and I've got the bruises to prove it."

Kikyo smiled a little at this as Inuyasha scooped the girl up bridal style. He took off at a run toward the house revealing just how nervous he actually was about the situation. No amount of nerves he'd ever seen had scared anyone's eyes into glowing.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sesshoumaru stormed through the back into the kitchen slamming the door in his wake hard enough to crack the bottom most pane of glass. Kaede looked up from her place behind the counter where she was preparing lunch with an even expression.

She had worked for the Takahashi's long enough to be used to the fierceness of Takahashi-sama's eldest son when he was truly bothered by something. He was nowhere near as excitable as his younger brother, but when he was truly angry he was a force to be reckoned with. What ever had gotten into the young man right now was obviously enough to truly unsettle him.

"Would you like some lunch, sir?" Kaede asked lightly giving him an open invitation to sit and talk if he so wished, she knew he wouldn't but made the offer anyways.

"No, thank-you Kaede. I will be in my study for the rest of the afternoon should anyone need me."

"Very well, I'll have some tea brought up for you shortly."

He nodded slightly before heading through the swinging doors leading into the hall and the stairs up to his study. In the hall way he met a very unwelcome sight. Naraku was leaning against the wall at the bottom of the stairs with a sort of nonchalant arrogance, one leg kicked out and his arms crossed over his chest.

Naraku's eyes seemed a little brighter than what could be considered normal and a menacing smirk graced his lips as though he knew something of value.

"What's the matter _Sesshoumaru_-_Sama_?" He spat out the formal title as though it were a poison. "Lovers quarrel?"

Sesshoumaru's unnaturally hazel gaze flashed gold briefly as his eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. "Don't you have a training schedule to be attending to Himura?" He said coldly, not giving credence to his pathetic attempt to goad him.

"Oh, yes." He sneered. "In fact, I've been thinking about taking the liberty doing a little extra study with Kagome, can't have her shying away from me on camera now can we, especially during the more…intimate scenes."

Sesshoumaru's hand seemed to work of its own accord as he darted forward and grabbed the smirking man by the throat. "You keep your hands off her you filthy piece of refuse." Sesshoumaru snarled low and dangerously with a barely controlled rage.

Naraku's smile only widened. Sesshoumaru couldn't see it but it certainly didn't fail to pass Naraku's notice when a slight flash of red clouded the other mans eyes. "So possessive _Sesshoumaru_-_sama_, but let me remind you…history will repeat itself, the little bitch will be your down fall and then she will be mine!"

The iron grip Sesshoumaru on Naraku's neck moved from a warning to a real threat as his rage built. Suddenly his gaze slipped out of focus and his vision went gray.

'What exceptional timing.' He thought dryly as the 'vision' overtook him.

Sesshoumaru found himself standing once again in that throne room. There were people scurrying around frantically and armed guards everywhere. A strange almost toady looking creature carrying a staff with shrunken heads attached at the top scurried up and bowed low before him.

The creature cowered before him as if afraid of retribution for some bout of bad news he had to deliver, pitiful really, and yet as odd as the creature looked something about it was vaguely familiar.

"Sess…Sama…. toady creature spoke to him in a croaky voice. It was broken at first and very staticky, like listening through a CB radio on a bad station or something of the like. It was becoming a bit clearer with each word spoken, and small splotches of color were starting to bloom in the scene unfolding before him.

'So the visions are becoming more lucid.' Sesshoumaru thought as he watched the little man grovel at his feet.

For instance, he could tell that the little toad man's ancient looking hakama and haori were a earthen brownish in color, while the creature its self remained in shades of gray. If he had to guess though, he would suppose that he was most likely some variation of green.

"What news from our contact?" He heard himself say, though he did not consciously open his mouth to speak.

"He has sent word my lord…" The toad man croaked. "He has the name of the leader of the insurgent faction. He-he wants to meet with you personally to deliver the information, my lord."

The room suddenly began to spin violently, making his stomach clench painfully. When the scene settled he found himself standing in the middle of a small forest clearing. Everything beyond the soft light of the fire was blurred while the fire itself was actually taking on varied hues of red-orange color. He could hear the familiar metallic chinking of his armor as it rubbed against itself with his movements and sensed the unnatural stillness in the air, as if the very earth he walked on was holding its breath.

It was odd how certain sensory details came through with startling clarity while others remained in muddled obscurity. He could hear the popping logs of the fire in the fire pit, and feel the cool metal of Tokijin's hilt at his hip.

'wait…Tokijin?'

Suddenly there were dozens of masked warriors leering at him, their weapons drawn and pointed at him menacingly. Vaguely he considered the fact that the situation should have unnerved him some what, but he felt no fear at all, only a twinge of irritation.

'This …these visions are playing out just like my dreams…just like the script…what in the hell is going on here!'

The vision blurred again, the shades of gray melding and swirling into puddles of nothingness. When it cleared again Sesshoumaru saw a hand before him tightly grasping a large iron sword that seemed to have almost a perceivable aura of its own.

Magenta stripes stood out starkly against the background of black and grays wrapping around the wrist that oddly enough seemed to be attached to his arm. He held the sword before his face, noticing with morbid fascination the dark liquid that was dripping down the blade.

He shifted his grip on the massive blade, reveling in the strange power he could feel flowing from its depths. That's when he noticed his fingers. Long and elegant yet strong and deadly and tipped with lethal looking claws.

'Hn….' He took it calmly enough, almost as if a part of him expected it, just below his consciousness.

Scattered around the campsite were the bodies of the warriors who had been foolish enough to attack him, most missing appendages and all of them covered in thick, dark blood.

A new face flashed before his eyes, this one decidedly feminine. He didn't recognize this woman, but her face was unquestionably malicious. A strange feeling over came him, almost like a numbness in his limbs. He couldn't move.

Then the pain came.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sesshoumaru snapped himself out of the vision as the pains that seemed to be slicing through him like a hot knife only moments before quickly faded back into memory…or whatever it was.

Smirking cinnamon eyes gleamed at him with pure malice and Sesshoumaru realized he must have wrenched his hands away from Naraku to stop the vision.

"What's the matter _Sesshoumaru-sama_? Thinking of something…_unpleasant_?" He hissed lowly, his voice full of sadistic mirth.

Sesshoumaru studied the man before him with a cool outside demeanor even though on the inside he was a burning inferno of rage and indignation. It would not do to loose his composure though, no that would show weakness. It was better to seem detached than distressed, or at least that's the credence that got him through life thus far.

Obviously Naraku had some inclination as to what was happening here. What ever was happening was either happening to him also, or was being caused by him, though Sesshoumaru had no clue as to how one would go about causing such things.

There was a loud bang and shouting coming from the kitchen, Inuyasha's voice it seemed. It was not entirely uncommon to hear the moron yelling about the house, but there was something in his tone of voice that revealed his panicked state.

Sesshoumaru turned from his study of the hall leading to the kitchen only to find that Naraku had slipped away and was now out of sight. Shaking his head in irritation he headed toward the shouting buffalo in the kitchen otherwise known as his brother to head him off before something got broken. The fool was probably hungry and too lazy to find something himself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Inuyasha kicked open the back door and rushed in nearly slamming Kagome's unconscious head on the door frame in the process. Kikyo cringed behind him and let out a sigh of relief when the poor girls head cleared the solid frame unscathed.

"KAEDE YOU OLD HAG WHERE ARE YOU!" Inuyasha shouted crassly stomping into the kitchen tracking mud behind him and swinging Kagome's limp body around like a rag doll. Kikyo cringed again when her head missed the island counter by a fraction of an inch.

Either he was extremely well controlled or extremely lucky.

WHAM!

"Oh shit!"

Lucky it is. Or maybe not so lucky after all since he knocked her head on the back of one of the high backed stools at the counter. Kagome groaned in her unconscious state, but otherwise didn't stir.

"Damn, I'm sorry Kagome." Inuyasha cursed under his breath, his gruff front slipping for a minute revealing a great deal of genuine concern shining in his eyes. "KAEDE!" He shouted again and had just opened his mouth again when the hall door was flung wide and Sesshoumaru stepped in looking ready to kill.

He opened his mouth fully prepared to let his brother have it for disturbing his house hold until he turned to face him, Kagome held limp in his arms. The long curtain of her dark hair fell nearly to his knees and on of her slender hands fell loosely to the side.

It was easily one of the most infuriating and frightening sights he'd ever witnessed. Infuriating because his half wit brother had the nerve to put his hands on Kagome, frightening because there was something obviously wrong with the girl.

"What happened." He ground out keeping careful control over his urge to snatch the girl up out of his brothers arms and punch him just for touching her.

"Something freaky happened with her arrow and the whole target blew up, then Kagome passed out. Did you set up some kind of pyrotechnics and not tell anyone, cause that's pretty damn…"

"I did no such thing." Sesshoumaru snapped just as Kaede bustled through the door tucking a feather duster in the pocket of her apron.

"You bellowed Inuyasha?" The old woman said teasingly before noticing the girl draped limply in the young mans arms and the intense look on her employers face. "Oh my, what happened to the poor dear?" She asked somberly rushing up to check the girl out.

"She fainted I believe." Kikyo supplied quietly from where she had been standing near the door in silent observation until now.

"Well get her into her bed and I'll bring up some water and some smelling salts." Kaede instructed before bustling off to collect the smelling salts from the medical cabinet. "Should I call the doctor?" she inquired of Sesshoumaru, who gave a curt nod in response.

Inuyasha headed toward the door with the girl but was intercepted by his brother.

"I will take the girl." He said tonelessly, effortlessly snatching Kagome from his arms and secretly marveling at how light she felt in his arms. "You and Ms. Niyama go see if you can determine the cause of the explosion."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to argue, but was silenced with a glare from his brother. He shrugged and headed out the back door toward the archery field.

Sesshoumaru swept gracefully out of the room, carefully cradling the girl in his arms to avoid further injury. He gently pushed the door to her room open with his foot, trying his best to quell the small smile that threatened to take over his face at the state of her quarters.

Clothes were strewn about haphazardly as though she had dug around wildly in search of something and the expensive brocaded silk coverlet was bunched down around the foot of her bed. For a female she wasn't very tidy.

He gently placed her down on the soft mattress, frowning when she grimaced slightly as her head touched the pillow. Pulling off her athletic shoes and socks, he couldn't resist the urge to gently run his hands down the soft creamy expanse of leg exposed from her shorts. Her skin was so soft and flawless, like the silk she lay upon, only with a delicious warmth that even the finest silks in the world lacked.

Pulling the covers up over her and setting her shoes neatly by her bed, Sesshoumaru sighed and stood silent vigil over the cataleptic girl. He felt a heavy pang of regret stirring somewhere with in his chest as he watched the quiet rise and fall of her chest.

He knew he hurt her this morning when he walked away, but the last thing he needed right now was to get caught up in a relationship with some clingy, weepy woman.

But this was Kagome, fiery, intelligent, and compassionate Kagome. The woman who had haunted his dreams for years, the woman who occupied his every waking thought and consumed his night time visions like a plague. The woman he'd met barely a week ago and yet had known his entire life.

There was no escaping her, at least for the time being. As long as they were working on the film he would be forced to be in her presence and he could not deny the attraction he had for her, nor could he tolerate other men laying claim to what was his.

That left him little choice. Either he would pursue her or he would allow someone else to.

The latter was unacceptable.

Any further internal deliberation on his part was halted by a soft groan.

"…my head…" She grumbled, one hand rising up to rub the sore lump on the side of her head. "Sesshoumaru?" She asked looking up at him bleary eyed.

"What happened Kagome?" He asked seriously.

She blinked up at him for a few moments trying to regain her bearings and ignoring his harsh tone before she spoke. "You know," she said with a weary sort of irritation, "you're even a jerk in the visions."

Sesshoumaru repressed the urge to roll his eyes at her. "What happened?"

Kagome sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I don't really know. Something happened when I shot the arrow, it felt like…I don't know…like my soul was being tugged on or something, and then…"

"Then?"

"…I had another vision thingy…" She said slowly.

"Hn."

"Sesshoumaru, something really weird is going on and I want to know what you know about it right now!" She demanded weakly, trying to sit up. A firm hand on her shoulder gently pushed her back to the bed.

"I know as little about this situation as you do." He said quietly.

"Then why do the visions seem to be mirroring the script almost exactly?" She asked quietly, turning slightly frightened cobalt eyes to him. "Sesshoumaru…I'm scared…this afternoon…it didn't hurt, but…and the visions are getting more detailed…I just…"

She halted her stammering by burrowing her face into his chest suddenly, her delicate hands fisting the material of his expensive silk shirt. She looked so lost and frightened, wide blue eyes glossy with unshed tears, he couldn't bring himself to push her away.

"I have brought the smelling salt….oh!" Kaede said as she stepped through the door with a bottle of smelling salts in one hand and a glass of water in the other. "I - uh- see that you are already awake dear." She commented with a twinge of embarrassment at catching the master of the house in such an…intimate position.

For anyone else it would have been no big deal, but the only person Kaede had ever seen Sesshoumaru show any kind of physical affection toward was Rin, and even that was rare.

Both parties had separated upon her entry, Kagome blushing politely and Sesshoumaru fixing the older woman with an impatient glare. Inuyasha bustled through the open door way a moment later a worried look in his dark eyes as he made his way over to the foot of the bed while Kikyo quietly stood in the door way.

"Are ye feeling ok child?" Kaede asked handing her the water which she accepted gratefully. "Ye should drink all of that down."

"Thanks, and I'm ok, I think." Kagome said with a tentative smile, lifting the glass to her lips. "My head hurts though." She said with a little grimace as she gently massaged the lump on the side of her head. "Did I hit my head when I fell?"

"Heh…something like that." Inuyasha said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous gesture that Sesshoumaru recognized immediately as guilt. He sent him a glare that promised a little 'talk' later.

"Were the targets rigged? What did you find?" He queried acutely.

"No, nothing. it's the weirdest thing I've ever seen. It's like it just spontaneously combusted or something."

Sesshoumaru frowned, he would have to get some one to come out and take a look at the site to ascertain properly what happened. He turned his attention once more to Kagome, who was staring into her glass of water as if waiting for the answers to magically appear.

"Rest for now. The costume designer and head seamstress will be here this afternoon to do a preliminary fitting. Attend if you are feeling up to it, if not I will have them come back tomorrow to take care of you."

Kagome nodded deftly before placing her water on her bedside table and laying back to rest, watching as Sesshoumaru gave her one last look over as if to assure himself she was ok before walking out the door beckoning Inuyasha to follow.

Kaede immediately bustled over to her tucking the sheets in around her and smoothing her hair away from her face. "You just get some rest dear. I'll wake you when the costume coordinator arrives."

Kagome thanked her and watched as her plump figure disappeared behind the door. Somehow knew that this was just the beginning, what ever this was it was getting worse, and Kagome wasn't so sure anymore that there was a way to stop it.

AN; There ya go! Wow, new content and revisions! We're getting close to being caught up now and I've got some new chapters ready (ones that havn't been posted previously.)


	7. chapter 7

Disclaimer; See chapter one, but for those who are too lazy, I don't own the characters, just torture them for my own sadistic amusement (and hopefully yours as well!)

AN:The visions are cool huh? Yes, the ultimate question, what happened in the past that they are remembering? Lean a little closer to your screen and I'll tell you…a little closer…just a little more…phhhhhht(blows raspberry in your ear! Hahaha!) like I was really gonna tell you! You will just have to wait and see, but its very good I promise.

I have a little confession to make. I don't really know all the details that go into making a movie, so I'm kind of going on what I know from my experiences in the theatre and from watching 'the making of' feature on my DVD's! he he he, (grins sheepishly). Well anyways, soon Naraku will be taking a darker turn, scary I know, and Kagome and Sesshoumaru will be taking a closer look into why they are having these visions.

I hope you all enjoy "The Final Bow" and please let me know what you think. Please be sure to deposit all trash in the appropriate receptacles on your way out of the theatre….And now our feature presentation…

The Final Bow

By; Undecidedly Certain

Chapter Seven

What's Wrong With My Bust Line!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Something roused her from the dreamless sleep she had drifted into shortly after being left alone with her own thoughts with strict orders to get some rest. How she had managed to fall asleep after everything that happened that morning was beyond her. Perhaps stress, or mental exhaustion.

Who knows, but somehow she had managed the feat. It was a wonder with all the mental noise bouncing around in her head lately. Life was just getting entirely too complicated; she should have never let Yuka drag her to those auditions. It had only been a few weeks, but they had been some of the longest weeks of her entire life-and that was counting the whole chicken pox at summer camp ordeal.

A warm weight shifted next to her and Kagome started, eyes snapping wide at the intrusion. The little body huddled next to her sighed and scooted closer when Kagome instinctually scooted away.

It was Rin. The little girl was curled on her side on top of the heavy duvet still clad in her play clothes from earlier, sneakers and all. One pudgy little hand was curled just under her chin as she slept making her look even more young and innocent than she did when she was awake.

Smiling softly at the sweet picture she made, Kagome silently slipped out of bed and, after removing her sneakers, slid the slumbering child under the covers smoothing them gently just as her own mother had done for so many years.

Quietly as she could Kagome slipped on her shoes and tiptoed out the door, softly closing it behind her. She made a mental note to come up and check on her before too long, she could remember how scary it was to wake up someplace other than your own bed as a child.

She wondered briefly how the child got into her bed to begin with, but decided not to dwell on it. Most likely, she snuck up when no one was looking. Her stomach was grumbling irritably having missed lunch. She was fully prepared to make reparations for that oversight.

Once down the stairs Kagome was met with a flurry of activity. There were more people buzzing around the main floor than Kagome had seen in the whole time she'd spent at the estate. It was rather dizzying.

A pair of women she was unfamiliar with came in the front door carrying a long bolt of material nearly knocking her down in the process.

"S'cuse me sweetheart." The stout woman with short blonde hair bringing up the rear called out brusquely to her as she passed.

Kagome watched in awe as people swarmed about making Sesshoumaru's beautiful home look more like a three ring circus than a million dollar estate. Some one grabbed her arm suddenly giving her a light tug and making her cry out in surprise.

"There you are!" Sango said happily looking Kagome over. "Yash said you passed out this morning, are you ok?" Concern was written all over the older girls face and Kagome forced a smile on despite all the trepidation she felt in her heart.

"Yeah, just over exerted my self or something." She lied. "I'm fine now though." _I also made an ordinary arrow into a flying bomb_, she thought sardonically. _And for my next trick_…

"Good, because we have about a bazillion costumes to be measured and fitted for." Sango gushed pulling a nervous looking Kagome behind her. Kagome cast a forlorn look down the hall toward the kitchen before allowing herself to be pulled down the hall and into a huge room that she had never seen before. She would have to find something to eat later, she thought with a sigh.

And with the amount of stuff in here, she realized morosely, it could be a while. She rubbed her stomach with a sympathetic air.

The room was completely devoid of furnishing currently, but from the decorations adorning the walls she assumed that it was used for entertaining, most likely large numbers of guests, for fancy get togethers or something of the like. The west wall was covered in the most beautiful stained glass windows she'd ever seen.

Bolts of fabric were spread out all over the place and rolling clothes racks were lined up against the walls, each chock full of multiple assortments of clothing. Tables littered with assortments of different armor and prop weapons were lined near the clothes racks. Stools were set about the bare space in the middle of the floor and a few changing screens were set up against the back wall.

Ayami, Koga, Miroku, Naraku, and, surprisingly enough, Inuyasha were already there and perched up on their respective stools being swarmed by masses of seamstresses while a young man who she assumed to be the head costume designer walked around observing with a critical eye.

Kagome was beginning feeling a little nervous. She seriously hoped she didn't have to get undressed in front of everyone. It wasn't that she was ashamed of her body or anything, she just had a healthy amount of feminine modesty. Inuyasha caught her eye and smiled, giving her a little wave. The subtle movement caused the seamstress pinning a loose pair of bright red hakkama on him to jab him in the thigh with one of her straight pins dragging a very canine sounding yelp from the poor guy. Kagome sniggered.

A firm grip suddenly wrapped its self around her arm and tugged her away from Sango with a little more force than necessary causing the poor startled girl to stumble a bit over her own feet. It was the same chubby little woman from before, the one that had nearly run her over with that large bolt of fabric. Great, this should be loads of fun.

"C'mon sweetie, we've got a lot to get done this afternoon." She said while blowing a big pink bubble with her gum, it smelled like bubble-licious, Kagome's favorite. Her stomach rumbled embarrassingly loud.

The woman rolled her eyes. "You're the miko right?" The woman gave her a gentle nudge up onto a stool and began circling her like a vulture honed in on a slab of rotting meat. It was a bit disconcerting.

Kagome heard her question, but was so distracted by everything going on in the room she could do little more than gape while she watched Inuyasha pull off his shirt. Yes, the man was built. Very nice, very nice indeed. Almost as nice as his brother. Too bad 'heinous ass' ran rampant as a family trait.

He looked up and noticed her staring and gave her a wink and a devilish smirk. Color bloomed across her cheeks faster than flowers in May. Why did she always get caught! It was frustrating and horribly embarrassing. Other people looked, right? How come no one else ever seemed to get caught?

Maybe it was just her, maybe deep down Kagome Higurashi was just a hopeless pervert with an innocent front as a diversionary tactic. She didn't even realize she had zoned out until a pudgy hand holding a measuring tape waved in front of her face.

"You're a bright one aren't ya?" The woman stated sarcastically while roughly pushing her arms straight out to the sides and pulling off the button up shirt she had over her tank top. She pulled the long tape measure from its place draped around her neck and began measuring her as another woman appeared by her side with a note pad.

"E-excuse me?" Kagome stammered, not really sure if the pudgy blonde had just insulted her or not.

The woman ignored her and continued her measurements, calling out her arm length, and inseam. When the measuring tape was brought none too gently across her breasts Kagome 'eeped' and jumped slightly, turning a bit red when the woman called out her measurements…Loudly.

"32 at the bust." She called out loudly with a nasty smirk as Kagome stiffened slightly. "Not much to work with there…" The woman commented much too loudly for Kagome's tastes. "Good thing most of your costume designs are well covered so we can use padding."

Kagome couldn't do much more than gape, eyes wide and teeth clenched as the woman insulted her. Ok, so she didn't have huge bouncing silicone boobies, but they weren't under proportionate or anything. At least she had never thought so. She noticed Sango's sympathetic gaze on her and couldn't bring herself to look at the guys, whom she was sure were staring at her chest at that very moment.

The tape moved to her waist and quickly tightened causing Kagome to gasp.

"24 at the waist." The blonde sneered with bitterness easily discernable in her voice. Kagome could almost swear she heard her mumble 'scrawny bitch' under her breath, but it was soft enough to be easily mistaken as an irritated sigh.

Kagome wondered what she did to this woman to cause such obvious loathing. She couldn't recall ever meeting her before.

"28 at the hips. You aren't very proportionate are you?" She said off handedly taking one last measurement from the outside of her hip to the heel of her foot. Kagome bit down on her tongue so as not to lash out at the woman.

'Some people are just naturally blunt.' She reminded herself silently trying to calm herself down. No reason to bite her head off – though the thoughts of decapitation were strangely appealing.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it though." The woman said airily before turning to head toward the head designer. "Child bearing hips are nothing to be ashamed of."

Kagome's fists balled at her hips as she spun around to tell her off, but the woman was already sauntering her way over to the designer and handing him her measurements and no doubt making some more crude comments.

She felt her ears burning and knew she was probably flushed bright red with the force of her ire. Kagome had never been so insulted in her life. Ok, so maybe Sesshoumaru had come close once or twice, but deep down she knew that he didn't really mean the snide comments he slid her way in passing.

Of course that could be contributed to the nonchalant way he managed to slip insults into casual conversation with remarkable ease.

Ayami, having witnessed Kagome's embarrassing situation, slipped off her stool and placed a calming hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"Don't worry about her Kagome. You're a beautiful girl, you have nothing to worry about, I promise. Kanna is just a little bitter."

"What did I ever do to her?" Kagome turned hurt eyes to Ayami who looked sympathetic to her cause. Kagome didn't like for people to be angry with her, especially when she couldn't even figure out why.

"You didn't do anything. That's Kanna Cain, as in the younger sister of Kagura Cain." Ayami explained, hoping that Kagome would understand why Kanna was being so harsh to her.

"Oh." Kagome said, shoulders sagging slightly. She honestly didn't mean to make Kagura angry by getting the role. Heck, she didn't even set out originally to get the role, it just sort of happened.

"Hey, don't let it get to you. It's just the way it works in this business sometimes." She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "If it makes you feel any better I'm only a 34." Ayami gave Kagome a friendly wink and headed back to her own spot.

The head designer sashayed his way over to her, eyeing her critically as if trying to size her up. Kagome gulped nervously at the almost severe look he had on his face, his rectangular glasses pushed low on his nose as he circled her. His short brown hair was spiked at unnatural angles, giving him a very artsy look.

"You, my dear," He said stopping directly in front of her, looking into her nervous blue eyes with his own warm brown. A ball of preemptive embarrassment rose hot on her cheeks at the thoughts of the insults about to be bestowed onto her in a room of her peers. She bit her lip in trepidation.

"You will look spectacular in my clothes." A wide grin spread across his face and Kagome let out a sigh of relief.

"I am Setai Jakotsu." He said giving her an amiable smile and offering her his hand, which Kagome readily accepted.

"Higurashi Kagome." Kagome returned the smile easily, she already knew she was going to enjoy working with Jakotsu. Hopefully Kanna wouldn't be hanging around too much.

"Well Kagome," Jakotsu said offering her his hand to help her off the stool. " Lets get you out of those clothes and into something more befitting of a star such as yourself."

Kagome blushed and followed him to a screen where she proceeded to try on dozens of beautiful traditional silk Kimonos, most of which he pinned here and there for alterations. Then she tried on what looked to be an altered version of a fighting kimono, complete with stiletto straps on her thighs.

The kimono its self wasn't very revealing, but the slits on the sides were not very modest and if she moved the wrong way she was sure she'd be giving someone a nice show. She timidly stepped out from behind the screen to where Jakotsu was waiting for her with his arms crossed across his chest.

"H-how do I look?" she asked timidly. Before he could answer Koga walked by and did a double take, nearly falling on his face in the process.

Ayami walked up behind him and popped him good on the back of the head for good measure before whistling lewdly at Kagome and heading off with a kimono under her arm.

"A girl like you could make a man like me consider what he's missing out on by opting against the fairer sex." Jakotsu said with sexy wink that made Kagome blush. "You look beautiful, Kagome. Really."

"Thanks…." Kagome started when she got the creped out feeling of someone watching her.

She nervously turned only to find Naraku leering at her from across the room, undisguised lust heavily evident in his face and body language. His tongue darted out of his mouth and slowly strayed across his bottom lip suggestively. Kagome quickly turned away from him, fidgeting nervously.

Jakotsu noticed Naraku's staring and quickly shooed Kagome back behind the screen before sending Naraku a back off glare. Naraku merely sneered at the designer before turning to Kanna who was trying to hand him a set of mock armor to try on.

The afternoon dragged on, Kagome trying on all sorts of costumes, from casual kimonos to those fit for a princess, fighting gi's and sleeping yukatas. Finally all she had left to try on was her miko's robes.

Kagome slipped into the traditional red and white clothes, tying the sash securely around her waist before venturing out to show Jakotsu. He circled her, looking at her from top to bottom before smiling.

"I don't think we'll even have to alter that one." He said happily. "It suits you well."

"Jakotsu, I need you over here please!" A slender brunette called from where she was working with Inuyasha.

"I'm coming." He called with a sigh over his shoulder. He kissed Kagome lightly on the hand and told her to wait for him before heading over to help.

Kagome meandered over to the large triple mirror that had been set up to examine herself. The robes fit her quite well, she had to admit. There was something eerily familiar about seeing herself in them too, though she couldn't remember having ever worn them before even though grandpa had sets similar to this at the shrine.

Kagome reached out and gently ran her hand over her shirt, straightening the folds and watched in awed fascination as the miko image in the mirror did the same. A sudden flash of black and white caused the girl to gasp and slump against the mirror for support as another 'vision' over came her.

She was standing outside a rudimentary wood hut, a large rack for drying herbs was set up against one of the outer walls next to a pile of fire wood.

Kagome could see her hands (or what she assumed were **her** hands) working with a pestle and mortar grinding some dried herbs into powder. There was no color at all this time, everything was gray scale. A deep voice sounded in her ear, startling her somewhat, even though she could feel his aura approaching.

'wait, how do you feel an aura?' Kagome wondered.

"Why do you do this miko?"

Kagome turned her head bringing a pair of pale gold eyes into view.

'His eyes are always in color.' She thought vaguely as more details came into focus and colors slowly bled into the picture.

On his forehead a deep blue crescent moon shone as a symbol of his authority, two violent red slashes adorned each cheek as a symbol of his power. His mouth was drawn in a tight grimace, though whether it was because he was in pain, or because he was severely irritated she couldn't tell.

He really only seemed to show two facial expressions in these visions;

'I don't like you' and 'I don't care'.

His chest and arms were still heavily bandaged. Because of the effects of the dark miko his demon healing wasn't working as it should.

She heard herself sigh before answering. "Because it is the right thing to do." She answered. "And because I want to." She added softly, though she knew he could hear her perfectly. "Now, what are you doing up, you should be resting." Her tone had taken on a slightly scolding quality that most would never dare use toward such a frightening creature.

"You dare presume to order this Sesshoumaru around?" He said lowly narrowing his gorgeous eyes dangerously.

Kagome watched in horrific fascination as her hand reached out and poked the demon in the chest, hard. He flinched visibly, but made no complaint or whimper of protest.

" 'This Sesshoumaru' is still injured." Kagome admonished withdrawing her hand, completely unfazed by the low growl that escaped his throat. "Now get back to bed before I have to drag you there myself." She turned back to her herbs.

After a moment she felt him turn to head back into the hut, but not before making one of his customary cold remarks. "You are a terrible miko, wench."

Visionary Kagome laughed as did her real life counter part. She was tending to an injured, vicious, demon lord.

She was a terrible miko indeed. Possibly the worst ever.

She snapped out of the vision nearly as quick as she'd slipped into it and found her self resting heavily against the center mirror. A small tugging at the back of her pants brought her completely back to reality.

Turning, Kagome found a pair of big brown eyes looking up at her sadly.

"Are you ok Miss Kagome?" Rin asked quietly. "Rin was worried."

Kagome smiled at the sweet child before sweeping her up into a big bear hug. " I'm ok sweetie, but thank you for worrying about me. And you don't have to call me Miss Kagome, you can just call me Kagome."

Rin flashed her a bright smile when Kagome set her down. "Ok!" The child glanced down at the older girls strange attire and her little brow furrowed. "You gots weird clothes on Kagome!" she said finally.

Kagome laughed and looked down at herself. "Yeah, I guess I do huh?" She commented.

"Rin wants some funny clothes too!" Rin shouted happily swinging Kagome's hand back and forth with her own.

"Well, I'll tell you what Rin, I'll see if Jakotsu will make a set just for you."

"Really?" The little girl asked, her eyes widening almost painfully with hope.

"Really."

Rin threw her arms around Kagome's neck and hugged the older girl tightly. "I wish Kagome could stay with Rin forever." Rin said almost sadly, her face buried in Kagome hair. "Then Kagome could be Rin's mommy."

Kagome face-faltered. "Rin sweetie, I would love to stay with you, but I could never take the place of your real mother. That wouldn't be fair to her and it would probably hurt her feelings."

Rin looked up at her innocently. "It wouldn't hurt Rin's real mommy's feelings because she don't want Rin." Rin said honestly. Kagome was horrified, what kind of mother wouldn't want their own child. Especially such a sweet girl like Rin.

Even more importantly, what jerk told her that her mother didn't want her!

"I'm sure that's not true sweetie, who told you that?"

"Papa Sess."

Kagome felt a knot in her chest, though whether it was from sympathy for the child or anger at the father she couldn't tell. She affectionately ran her fingers through the fringe of Rin's bangs and pulled the little girl in for another hug.

"Well, I want you." Kagome said firmly. "I may not be able to be your mommy, but I promise I will always be your friend. Almost like a big sister, how's that?"

The child seemed to ponder this for a moment before a contented smile crossed her sweet face. "OK! We can play dollies and pick flowers and put bugs in Jaken's coffee!" Rin Squealed happily causing Kagome to laugh.

"We'll get right on that as soon as I'm done with this. How about after dinner tonight? Just me and you kiddo?" Kagome asked.

Rin's smile could have melted the polar ice caps and flooded the earth with her happiness. "Yea!" She squealed clapping her pudgy little hands.

"Ok, I have to go find some one, can you find Mr. Jaken by yourself?"

Rin nodded and Kagome patted her on the head affectionately before walking determinedly out the door.

Oh yes, she was going to find someone all right. When she found Sesshoumaru Takishima she was going to give him a piece of her mind. How dare he tell Rin that her own mother didn't want her!

"SESSHOUMARU!" She bellowed heading down the second floor hall, still clad in her miko robes, her hair fanning out behind her like a dark curtain blowing in the breeze. She got no answer.

"SESSHOUMARU TAKISHIMA, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU! NOW!" She continued shouting, still receiving no response. Where could he be? No matter, he couldn't hide forever.

At the end of the hall a door was slightly ajar. There was a brass sign on the door that read private, but curiosity got the better of her, nearly overlapping her anger.

Kagome pushed the door and it swung open soundlessly. She honestly didn't understand what was so 'private' about it. It wasn't anyone's bedroom or anything. In fact, it looked like an office.

'It must be Sesshoumaru's office' she surmised her eyes making a quick sweep of the room.

The floor was a rich highly polished cherry wood covered with a beautifully complex burgundy rug. Bookshelves lined the back wall filled from floor to ceiling with all sorts of leather bound lore and to her left a huge window took up the entire wall, heavy velour drapes were pulled back with elegant ties. A small leather couch sat in front of it

Kagome pushed the door the rest of the way open and gasped. A huge mahogany desk sat in front of a large stone fireplace across from the window, but that wasn't what had caught her attention.

There above the mantle was a huge painting…of her.

AN; (insert maniacal laugh) Not as long as my usual chapters, but I thought this was a great place to be evil and cut it off! He he he he! Stay tuned people, because Kagome wants some explanations and she wants them now! What will happen next? Keep reading and find out! Oh, and don't forget to review!

U.C.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer; inay onay nwoay yashnay nday ompanykay. Ot it ga? That was the disclaimer in pig Latin…don't look at me like that, I'm just trying to expose you to some culture! (he he he)

The Final Bow

By; Undecidedly Certain

Chapter Eight

If the Desk is A'Rockin'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome stared in stunned awe at the portrait. It was beautiful, it was masterful, it was her exact image right down to the miko robes she was currently wearing, it was…really giving her the creeps.

She slowly walked around the large, neatly arranged desk to stare up at the portrait. It looked old. Really old, but how was that possible?

Unable to resist the temptation any longer she pulled the high backed leather chair from behind the desk and pushed it up in front of the fire place. The chair looked more like a thrown than a desk chair making Kagome roll her eyes as she slid off her sandals to stand on the seat.

'It suits him though,' she thought smugly, the number of qualms she had with the Hollywood mogul were rising by the minute.

Reaching up with tentative hands she gently ran her fingers over her painted face. Her image was turned slightly to the side gazing at something off to her right that only she could see, one delicate hand raised as if reaching for something. A serene smile was on her face, and her eyes were light with happiness.

It was truly amazing how well the artist had captured the mood of the moment. She could tell that her identical twin, who ever she may be, was incredibly happy at this moment in her life.

The only real difference she could see between the painting and herself was a small scar depicted vertically down the paintings cheek, almost like a permanent tear stain, and a strange ancient symbol at the crook of her neck. It reminded her of a henna tattoo.

Something around the girls neck in the painting caught her eye. It was a necklace of some sort with a large pinkish pearl on it. It was kind of gaudy, just to have that big opalescent pearl hanging from a string, but who was she to judge. The pearl its self was very pretty, perhaps she got it as a gift, maybe even from a lover.

She knew she shouldn't be touching the painting, old oil paintings are easily damaged by the oils on peoples hands, but she just couldn't seem to stop her self from reaching up and brushing her fingers across the pinkish ball.

A jolt rushed through her finger tips as they made contact, and a rush of disembodied voices soared through her ears. She felt dizzy, but no vision came this time. Just voices…

A light tinkling of laughter that she could associate as her own floated overhead accompanied by the deep rumbling of a male chuckle.

"If you don't stand still she will mess up and you will look even more constipated than usual." her voice whispered with barely contained mirth.

A low rumbling growl responded sending shivers up her spine.

Kagome heard herself giggling at his irritated tone. "Aw Sesshou, you know I have to tease you."

There was a swish of fabric followed by a squeak of surprise, then more giggling and a few playful sounds of protest. Then it was quiet for a moment.

"Sesshou…I think I am in love with you." she heard herself whisper. A soft, almost comforting growl was her only response before it faded out completely.

Kagome was left a little dizzy and confused. That was much different than the others. She'd had the visions with sound, but never the sound with no visions. This just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Slowly, almost regretfully she pulled her hand away from the painting and turned to climb off the chair only to be startled out of her mind when she found that someone was standing on the other side of the desk glaring at her.

Kagome jumped at the unnoticed intrusion and lost her footing, falling unceremoniously to the floor behind the desk landing hard on her chin and elbows. With a groan she pushed herself up gingerly rubbing her sore chin and pulled herself up with the ledge of the desk.

She rested her arms on the smooth surface once she was in a kneeling position and muttered a disgruntled "ouch", raising her eyes to meet a very annoyed pair of hazel on the other side.

"Do you know what the word private means Miss. Higurashi?" Sesshoumaru snapped tersely. "Or do I need to supply you with a dictionary?"

Kagome's cheeks reddened with embarrassment at being caught snooping around his private office before she remembered why she was here to begin with. Her courage found and her ire rising, Kagome pushed herself to her feet, schooling her features into a look of fierce determination.

"We need to talk." She said stately, crossing her arms over her chest in a no nonsense manner.

"Indeed." He said placing both hands palms down on his desk leaning over it toward her. "I will start. What are you doing in my private study, damaging an irreplaceable ancient oil painting, might I add while standing in my chair?"

Kagome gaped at him for a brief moment before regaining her momentum and mimicking his position and leaning toward him with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"I was looking for you." She ground out. "And what in the depth of hell do you think your doing telling your little girl that her mother doesn't want her?"

Sesshoumaru looked taken aback for a moment before his glare dropped to a sub-zero level. "It is none of your concern what I tell Rin, do not presume that I will allow you to sift through my personal business and use my child as a source of information."

Kagome's mouth opened in outrage. How dare he accuse her of drilling Rin for personal information like that. What a… "Listen here you…you…asshole! For your information Rin told me that she wished I could be her mommy and when I told her that it might hurt her real mothers feelings she said that her mother didn't want her. I wasn't 'sifting through your business' nor was I drilling Rin for information you pompous son of a…"

The fire in her eyes was burning him alive. The bright flush of her cheeks and the way her hair was spilling softly over her shoulder was nearly his undoing. He had to stop her before he could no longer control himself, so he halted her angry tirade by gently placing two fingers over her mouth, which promptly snapped shut.

She pouted and gave him an indignant glare and he had to fight the urge to smile at her antics.

"I apologize." he started slowly, letting the words sink in and her anger to ebb before he continued. When her glare softened slightly he resumed. "I tend to be …protective where Rin is concerned."

Kagome gave a slight nod, her soft lips brushing against his warm fingers. Seeing that she would not start up again he removed his hand.

"Not that it is any of your business," he smirked when her glare returned full force, but quickly went on before she could start berating him again. "Rin is my adopted daughter. Six years ago she was left on my doorstep in a basket with nothing but a blanket, a soiled diaper, and a note saying that her parents couldn't keep her."

Kagome's eyes widened and clouded slightly with tears. This fascinated Sesshoumaru, she was so compassionate…it couldn't be healthy to have such violent mood swings.

"So you adopted her?" She asked in a much softer tone than she had been using a few moments prior.

At his curt nod Kagome smiled softly and leaned forward closing the small space between them over the desk and pressed her lips fully to his. It took all his resistance not to groan and grab her right then and there.

The kiss was chaste and over far too soon leaving a confused Sesshoumaru and a blushing Kagome. Wasn't she angry at him not to long ago for doing the same thing? This woman would be the death of him for sure.

"What was that for?" he asked softly, watching with amusement as she averted her eyes from meeting his own fully.

"For being a good man." Kagome said quietly before turning her eyes back to him. "But your still an asshole. You don't tell a child that her mother doesn't want her!" She scolded, but in a much more civil tone than before.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, her psyche was doing a little victory dance at the fact that Sesshoumaru didn't have an estranged ex floating around out there some where waiting for child support and causing trouble.

She didn't dwell on it.

"It is the truth." He said plainly.

Rolling her eyes Kagome retorted. "Did you not ever consider what that would do to her feelings of self worth? That kind of thing can scar a child for life."

"I will not lie to her." He stated plainly. "She has plenty of people who care for her, she knows she is worthy of love, she does not need the worthless woman who bore her to make her life complete."

Kagome was stuck between wanting to slap the man and kiss him again. The latter sounded better to her, but she settled for an aggravated sigh and a staring contest.

They stayed like that for a while, both seemingly assessing the other as they leaned across the expanse of the desk toward each other.

Finally, unable to take the silence any longer, Kagome broke it. "So, you want to explain why you have a painting of me over your fire place?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you a stalker?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion as she waited for his answer.

Sesshoumaru watched her with a blank expression waiting for her to make some sign that she was joking. Nothing. She was serious. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Sesshoumaru Takishima laughed.

Kagome's eyes widened with surprise and she leaned back as if he'd suddenly grown another head. She rarely saw the man smile and had never seen him laugh, yet the sound was strangely familiar. Deep and rich, it rumbled through her warming her heart.

She had heard it before though…when she touched the painting…that was his voice and his laugh that she was hearing!

"Kagome, that painting is over five hundred years old." He said with a soft smile as his bout of insanity receded.

"This is getting scary Sesshoumaru." She said seriously, wrapping her arms around herself as she turned to look up at the painting. "When I touched it…I ..heard voices."

Sesshoumaru sobered immediately. "What kind of voices?" He was past the point of thinking her daft. If that was the case then he was long gone as well.

"Happy voices…laughing…it was my voice and yours as well…"

"What did they say?"

"Nothing much. I think I said you looked constipated and then you…you growled at me."

A lone elegant eyebrow raised at this statement. He looked constipated? That certainly sounded like something Kagome would say, but he … "Growled?"

"Yeah, you know…GRRRR." She tried to imitate the noise, but only ended up sounding rather foolish. "Well, it was more …I don't know…dog-ish than that, but you get the point."

"And there was nothing else said?" He asked.

"No." She lied a little too quickly. Sesshoumaru caught it and sent her a look, but didn't push her about it. "Just more laughing."

"Hn."

Sesshoumaru gazed thoughtfully at the painting. Some how this all had to be connected, but how?

"Sesshoumaru, I don't know about yours, but my visions have been getting more intense." She stated, fidgeting nervously with the billowy sleeve of her top. "It seems to be somewhat following the story of the script." She added sending a guarded glance at him. "You-you don't happen to have an explanation for that do you?"

"I wish I did."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Where could she have run off to?" Sango sighed in frustration as she made her way down the hall with Yash and Jakotsu.

"Who knows, that wench is nuts." Inuyasha grumped good naturedly. He was actually pretty fond of Kagome, not that he would let it show.

"I would like to finish her fitting today." Jakotsu sighed taking off his stylish glasses to rub the bridge of his nose dramatically before turning to Inuyasha with a smirk. "you know, you are very sexy when your irritated." He purred, placing his hand on Yash's arm.

"Ack! What the hell!" Inuyasha yelled, roughly pushing Sango between himself and the odd designer. "I don't swing that way buddy." He glared over Sango the human shield.

"I was merely making a friendly comment." Jakotsu commented offhandedly.

"Friendly my ass." Inuyasha grumbled.

"Yes," Jakotsu sighed almost dreamily, "that would be nice."

"Ew!" Sango and Yash shouted at the same time. Jakotsu simply shrugged and continued down the hall.

As they reached the end the only room left was Sesshoumaru's private study and as Inuyasha informed them, he almost never let anyone in there. Just as they were about to turn and head back they heard voices coming from behind the thick oak door, one of them decidedly female.

"Go slow…just incase it hurts…" A soft voice floated through the door that sounded remarkably like Kagome. All three eavesdroppers had wide eyes and raised eyebrows at her statement.

A grunt was Sesshoumaru's only response.

"Well that was anticlimactic." Kagome said flatly after a moments pause, causing Inuyasha to gape like a fish.

"I don't feel anything…maybe a little harder?" Kagome said softly.

Sango's jaw dropped and Inuyasha snickered. "I always knew he was too girly to be a real man!"

Sango popped him in the arm before leaning forward to place her ear on the door. The men on either side of her were quick to follow her lead.

"This is uncomfortable, did we have to do it on your desk?" Kagome asked sounding a little peeved.

"Oh…my…god…" Sango whispered, leaning a little heavier on the door.

"Where would you prefer?" Sesshoumaru's deep voice resonated easily through the door. "Anywhere else we'd be sure to be interrupted."

A few moments passed quietly and the three outside the door waited with baited breath for what would be said next.

"This isn't working." Kagome said in a sing songy voice that clearly portrayed her boredom.

"That's because you wont be silent for more than two seconds." Sesshoumaru snapped, obviously irritated.

Inuyasha snickered and pressed himself more firmly against the door trying to hear some more solid evidence that they were doing what he thought they were doing on the other side of that door. Unfortunately the combined weight of the three of them leaning on the door was just enough to dislodge it from the jamb sending the three eavesdroppers sprawling in a heap on the floor just inside Sesshoumaru's office.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After a few minutes of deliberation Sesshoumaru and Kagome decided that maybe avoidance wasn't the best way to deal with their current situation. Obviously the visions were going to come and it was like putting the pieces in some strange puzzle. Perhaps if they completed the puzzle the strange happenings would cease.

They wrote down on a legal pad from Sesshoumaru's desk a rough rendition of what had occurred so far, deciding that keeping some sort of log would be beneficial. The most disturbing fact so far was Naraku's involvement, but there was nothing they could do at present about that.

Most of the visions seemed to be spurred by some sort of physical contact either with another person or with an object, so they decided to try to conjure them deliberately. They seated themselves across from each other at his desk and stared at each other for a moment before Kagome burst out giggling.

Sesshoumaru gave her a severe look and she tried her best to stifle her laughter. He was just so serious about everything, she couldn't help it. She forced her face into a serious expression and leaned forward a little in her chair reaching her hands out toward where his were patiently waiting.

She paused just before they touched. "go slow…just incase it hurts."

He grunted and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at her and they pressed their palms together, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did.

"Well, that was anti-climatic." Kagome commented with a frown. "Maybe a little harder…I don't feel anything."

Sesshoumaru sighed and pressed his hands a bit more firmly against her own.

Not even a minute later Kagome complained. "This is uncomfortable…did we have to do it on your desk?"

This time Sesshoumaru didn't restrain himself as he rolled his eyes at the insufferable young woman across from him. "Where would you prefer? Anywhere else we would be interrupted."

Kagome was quiet for a moment, content to just stair at their hands while she swung her legs restlessly beneath her chair. She reminded him very much of Rin in that moment.

"This isn't working." She said in a sing song voice that grated on his nerves like nails on a chalk board.

"That's because you wont be silent for more than two seconds." He snapped.

Just as she opened her mouth to fuss at him for getting so snappy the door flew open and in dropped three bodies in a heap to the floor in a cursing, squealing mass of arm and legs.

The three bodies on the floor, now identified as Sango, Inuyasha, and Jakotsu quickly disentangled themselves and sprung to their feet. Sango had her hand over her eyes, Jakotsu had turned his head to look at the back wall, but Inuyasha was staring wide eyes at the two seated across from each other at the desk….fully clothed.

"Hey," he shouted with a stunned and confused look on his face. "You're not naked!"

At his proclamation several things happened in rapid succession; Sango and Jakotsu snapped their gazes toward the couple at the desk, Sesshoumaru raised an inquisitive brow at his brother, and Kagome did a remarkable impression of a sputtering tomato.

"Why would we be naked? " Sesshoumaru asked calmly.

"Well we were looking for Kagome…and we heard voices…it sounded like… we thought…" Sango stuttered getting almost as red as Kagome.

"We thought you were going at it like dogs in heat on your desk." Inuyasha finished for her.

Kagome went over their conversation mentally thinking about what it must have sounded like from outside the door, then squawked in humiliation and slipped off the chair to hide behind Sesshoumaru's desk. Sesshoumaru gave the three an irritated look that they clearly took as a dismissal.

"I just need to finish up with your fitting whenever your ready Kagome." Jakotsu called out to the embarrassed girl who was still hiding under Sesshoumaru's desk as the trio scuttled out the door to avoid Sesshoumaru's wrath.

"You can come out now Kagome." Sesshoumaru called to her once they were alone again.

"No!" Kagome said miserably. "I've never been so embarrassed in my life."

"I find that hard to believe as clumsy as you are." Sesshoumaru stated blandly, knowing it would irk her.

"Hey!" She said, her dark head popping up from the other side of the desk like a gofer emerging from its hole.

Sesshoumaru smirked at his victory causing Kagome to pout at being tricked and slowly pulled herself to her feet.

"You had better go finish your fitting with Jakotsu." Sesshoumaru rose to his feet, biting back a chuckle at the horrified look on her face.

"Do I have to?" she wined, giving him her best doe eyes. "I was hoping I could hide out in here for the rest of the day."

"Jakotsu is a busy man, it is best not to keep him waiting."

Kagome scowled at him crossing her arms across her chest. "You're doing this on purpose." She grumped, giving him the evil eye and looking about as menacing as kitten baring its claws.

Sesshoumaru allowed a small smile to tilt his lips. "Perhaps."

Kagome 'hmph'ed' and marched out the door, sending one last glare over her shoulder before she disappeared down the hall.

He sat down at his desk, grinning like the mad hatter at her discomfiture. She was so sensitive. They would have to resume their quest for answers later, but at present there was work to be done.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N; Not dead. Just busy.he he he! How'd you like my title? Ok, ok, so it was a little corny, sue me. No wait, don't, I don't have any money! Anyways, as always, show your love and review! If I get a bunch of them I might just update again this week.

Hope you enjoyed.

U.C.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer; see ch. 1

A/N; Have you ever been reading fan fic's with other people in the room and read something funny that you laughed out loud at? Then the other people in the room get this funny look on their face and ask what's so funny, so you try to explain, but its kind of a situational comedy and the person doesn't get it. Then you just feel stupid…yeah. That sucks.

Anyways, I love my readers! You guys rock, I got some of the best reviews! Just to answer a few questions, I am figuring on having between 20 and 30 chapters, though I don't have it down to an exact number. I don't want to draw it out too long, but I don't want to cut it short either. Also, I am mainly focusing on the relationship between Kag & Sess. If I wrote out the development of all the relationships in the story it would probably never end.

The Final Bow

By; Undecidedly Certain

Chapter Nine

Turning Tides

Three weeks. She had been here three weeks and had only gotten to go to the beach once. The ocean was less than one hundred feet away, and she was subjected to smelling that alluring salty aroma every time she stepped outside and had to gaze out over the vast expanse of endless blue every morning during their workouts. Yet, she never seemed to find time to go.

Life was an impotent little bald man, hell bent on making everyone else as frustrated and miserable as himself.

"KAGOME! GET YOUR SCRAWNY ASS OVER HERE!"

Make that a FAT, little, impotent, bald man with a mouth full of lemons.

Kagome sighed and pushed herself up off the soft tuft of grass she had settled herself on just moments before and followed Ayame back over to the 'battle field'. They had been running the choreography of the major battle scenes all week.

It was exhausting. She was tired, her muscles were sore, and she was sweating like a pig.

"Ladies don't sweat." Ayame informed her with a wink as they walked as slowly as possible to where Inuyasha was standing impatiently, a bokken resting carelessly over his shoulder. "We glisten."

"Well I'm glistening like a pig then." Kagome said as she dourly swiped at her forehead with the back of her hand. A thoroughly disgusted look covered her face as she wiped the salty liquid on the back of her shorts. "Gah! I feel so gross!"

"Yeah well you look gross too wench." Inuyasha said with a playful smirk, tossing her the special long bow and foam tipped arrows used for practicing the battle sequences.

Kagome calmly pulled an arrow from the quiver and shot him in the head.

It bounced right off of course, but it still left an angry red whelp right between his eyes due to the close range. He rubbed at it furiously sending her a glare.

Kagome smiled innocently and batted her eyelashes at him with nothing but an "oopsie" for an appology.

He scowled and turned to walk toward Sango muttering something about 'violent wenches'. Kagome snickered and met Sesshoumaru's eyes from where he was sitting on the sidelines watching their progress. He had his hand resting nonchalantly over his mouth concealing an amused smile.

'Good god he's sexy when he does that." Kagome thought longingly. Good thing she wasn't the swooning type.

The visions had been oddly absent as of late. They had tried on several occasions over the last two weeks to summon them to no avail. They seemed unwilling to be forced, much to the frustration of Kagome.

Sesshoumaru, as always seemed for the most part unaffected.

Of course they spent half of that time driving each other crazy. It was the most undeniably confusing situation Kagome had ever found herself in. One minute she wanted to rip his head off and tell him where to shove it and the next she had the overwhelming urge to kiss him. It was driving her crazy.

Flashing him a brilliant smile and a suggestive wink from her position on the field, Kagome laughed out loud when his eyebrows shot up at her outwardly flirty behavior. For some reason she found great amusement in keeping him on edge.

Their 'relationship', in what ever terms it could be defined, hadn't been progressing very quickly, at least not on a physical level, but they had been spending more time together, a lot of it just in quiet conversation…or at least until he started an argument.

Oh yes, it was always him starting them too. She was beginning to think that he liked to argue with her. It was kind of a one step forward two steps back kind of situation, yet she just couldn't seem to get enough of him.

Sesshoumaru could be so different when they were alone, nice almost. Sometimes.

Kagome pouted a bit as she watched the flurry of motion across the open field – which, by the way, didn't much look like a battle to her, but who was she to judge. It would be different when they filmed it in the studio.

But that wasn't why she was pouting. Sesshoumaru hadn't tried to kiss her again, much to her disappointment, he was probably afraid she would get mad and cry again. She hadn't been able to come up with a good excuse to kiss him and was too embarrassed to put the moves on him just for the heck of it.

In all honesty she wasn't really sure if he wanted to pursue an actual relationship with her at all, but the more time she spent with him the more time she wanted to spend with him. Once she found out that Rin was adopted and Sesshoumaru had no 'strings attached' so to speak, Kagome had found herself feeling much less inhibited around him.

She had been spending more time with Rin also and had already made a vow that even if nothing developed between Sesshoumaru and herself that she would still be there for the child post-movie.

The little girl seemed to soak up the female attention like a little love sponge. Kagome was able to provide the cuddling and affection the child craved, along with spending time doing girly things with her like paint nails and fixing hair. Things that Sesshoumaru had absolutely no intention of doing with her.

"Alright," Inuyasha said coming up and positioning Sango and herself for the battle scene between the miko and demon slayer versus a giant oni that was to take place in the first half of the film when Miya decides to go 'undercover' and infiltrate the western citadel to dredge up Norihiko's faithful supporters. She goes under the guise of an apprentice slayer to Sango, or Karu as the character was called, going to offer their services.

There were three camera men on sight to tape rehearsals, three angles to catch all their mistakes and perfect the choreography so the scenes would be perfect. Kagome had been nervous the first day the cameras had been brought out, but she soon forgot they were even there.

"Ok, lets take this from the top and we will go through the counts nice and slow." Inuyasha instructed as Kagome and Sango readied their practice weapons.

A gigantic practice dummy was set up in place of the oni that would be created by a CG team in the actual film. It was all plaster and foam and snot green, though she wasn't quite sure why they picked that color out the spectrum.

They had even gone so far as to give it a crude face, complete with a potato looking nose and drawn on fangs (courtesy of Inuyasha and Miroku). A team of four puppetiers were in charge of moving the dummy around the field during the mock battles. Kagome felt sorry for them, It was almost twenty feet tall and the thing looked like it weighed a ton.

Inuyasha gave Sesshoumaru a sharp nod, signaling that he was ready to begin.

"Action." Sesshoumaru called from his seat.

"1..." Inuyasha called out loudly as Kagome pulled an arrow an nocked it. "2..." Sango hefted her huge boomerang up over her head giving it a flashy twirl.

"Higurashi this is a battle scene, not a ballet!" Sesshoumaru called out in an irritated tone.

Kagome pouted. "_Higurashi this is a battle scene not a ballet." _She mocked under her breath, sending him the best dirty look she could muster.

Inuyasha chuckled and continued the count. "3..." The oni was pushed forward. "4..." Kagome let her first arrow fly, immediately nocking another in its place. "5..." Sango heaved the boomerang, clipping its shoulder knocking a large chunk of paper machete off the dummy. "6..." The 'oni' was swung toward Kagome who fired her arrow, which bounced off its chest, she then dropped and rolled out of the way. Hitting the ground a little harder than she had meant to knocked the wind out of her, she sat stunned for a moment before rolling back onto her feet.

"Remember how I told you to roll Kags." Inuyasha scolded lightly before continuing. "7..." Sango released the boomerang once more, this time purposely missing and landing it in the ground behind the plaster oni. "8..." The creature swung at Sango this time, and Sango moved out of the way just in time, diving for her weapon. "9..." the oni turned to Kagome. "10..." Sango reached her weapon and launched it at the oni hitting it in the back. Unfortunately she hit it at just the right angle to off balance it sending the huge monstrosity forward…right for Kagome.

"OH SHIT! KAGOME GET OUT OF THERE!" Inuyasha yelled as the thing swung forward at her.

Later when they reviewed the tapes Kagome saw the puppeteers trying to steady the thing by pulling on the ropes attached at its shoulders, one poor guy even got pulled off his feet in the process. She saw Sango and Inuyasha came running forward to try to help her, and Sesshoumaru jump to his feet yelling her name, but while it was happening the only thing she heard was the deafening pounding of her heart.

As the massive structure of plaster, foam and wood descended upon her she instinctually let her arrow fly before trying to dive out of the way. She almost made it too.

When it hit the ground a massive cloud of dust rose up obscuring everything from view. Kagome felt a burning sensation on her thigh that quickly turned to a dull throb. Dirt flew in her face causing her to cough and sputter as she struggled to regain her bearings.

"Kagome! Oh god, are you ok?" She heard Sango's frantic voice calling.

"I'm (cough) fine (cough)!" She yelled back, even thought her thigh was throbbing something awful. Accessing the damage as the dust cloud began to dissipate, Kagome found that one of the plaster oni's massive arms had missed her leg by a fraction of an inch. If she had fallen an inch to the left her leg would most likely have been broken by the blow.

Luckily she had avoided the weight of the puppet by landing right at its green plaster armpit. Thank God they had decided to forgo realism and neglected to give it pit hair, that would have been nasty.

She tried to pull herself out from under it, wincing at the nasty throb in her right leg. A pair of strong hands grasped her upper arms and pulled her up, bringing her face to face with Sesshoumaru's beautiful hazel eyes. His mouth was pulled into a taught line as he looked her over for injury. His eyes stopped at her legs and narrowed almost angrily.

Kagome followed his line of sight and gasped when she saw the bright crimson liquid dripping down toward her knee. Apparently the arm left a nice gash in her right thigh, not deep enough to be serious, but enough to bleed pretty good.

With out a word to her Sesshoumaru swept her up into his arms bridal style and headed for the house. "Set up Naraku and Koga to go over the forest scene." He called over his shoulder to his brother.

Kagome had to smile, he may not exactly be one for expressing things with words most of the time, but his actions spoke volumes. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck, sighing at the wonderful smell of his cologne mixed with the salty sea air.

"I bet that looked pretty cool on camera." She said almost wistfully. "I wonder if I could do it again."

His sharp gaze snapped down to her. "You will not be attempting anything so foolish." He told her sternly.

"You better be careful Sesshoumaru." Kagome warned him playfully, bringing her hand up to play with the buttoned collar of his dress shirt.

"And why is that?" He asked, still looking straight ahead toward the house. "I believe you are the one injured."

Kagome giggled and raised her head up to look him in the eye. "Someone might think you actually care."

His eyes flickered to hers briefly before settling on their destination once more. He made no comment.

'If I could do that I would probably stay out of trouble more often.' She thought with a small smile. Her flapping jaws got her into more trouble than she cared to recollect. She couldn't seem to keep her mouth shut even in the best of circumstances.

Pushing the back door open, Sesshoumaru gracefully carried Kagome into the kitchen and gently sat her upon the counter before disappearing down the hall.

Kagome sat idly looking at her wound. It looked pretty bad, but then again most cuts look bad when their oozing blood and covered in dirt. She was about to get up to start cleaning the cut when Sesshoumaru came back through the door giving her a look that clearly said 'stay put'.

"Hey!"

"They're ruined anyway." He stated calmly as he ripped her jeans open along the outer seam from hip to knee.

"But I liked these jeans." Kagome whined at the loss.

"Then you shouldn't have been rehearsing in them."

There really wasn't anything to say to that, so Kagome sighed and pouted quietly.

After running cool water over a cloth, he began to carefully clean the cut. His hands were so gentle, and even though it stung like hell, Kagome couldn't help but melt under his touch.

Once all the blood and dirt was washed away they could tell that it really wasn't as bad as it looked at all. Nothing more than a six inch laceration, not quite deep enough to require stitches.

He smeared the cut with a good amount of Neosporin before wrapping her leg gently with a soft gauze bandage, his fingers gently brushing the inside of her thigh sending a rush of heat to her face.

It was in this moment of accidental, or maybe not so accidental, intimacy that Kagome noticed that Sesshoumaru was literally standing between her legs as she sat on the counter. She felt her breath hitch at this revelation.

When the bandaging was done he allowed his hands to linger on her skin a little longer than necessary, his eyes rising to meet hers.

"All better?" He asked in a low whisper.

Kagome swallowed hard and managed a feeble nod, the look in his eyes… it was making her weak and fluttery. She had never wanted to be kissed by anyone in her entire life as much as she wanted Sesshoumaru Takashima to kiss her in that moment.

Apparently he felt the same.

His face slowly moved toward her, his eyes never leaving hers, his hands still gently resting on her thighs. He moved slowly giving her the chance to stop him if it wasn't what she wanted. When her eyes fluttered closed he knew she wanted it just as bad as he did.

Just as their lips were about to meet the door flew open and in ran Rin holding poor Jaken's reading glasses like a trophy. Sesshoumaru and Kagome flew apart like guilty teenagers.

"heh…hey Rin." Kagome smiled at the little girl, though she could feel her face burning.

Rin scrunched her little nose up, contorting her face in a comically serious face. Kagome was unconsciously holding her breath, she could just hear the questions coming out of that sweet little mouth now.

'What were you doing? Why? Are you in LOVE? Are you going to be my new mommy? Am I gonna get a baby sister? Where do babies come from?'

Sesshoumaru noticed Kagome growing suddenly pale and began to worry that perhaps she had lost more blood than he'd first assumed.

"You gots a boo boo Kagome?" Rin asked with concern as she edged closer to them, the glasses still clutched in her hand hanging limply by her side as the excitement of her conquest was overlapped by concern for Kagome.

"Just a little one." Kagome sighed in relief at having dodged the bullet. "I'm ok." She assured the worried child. "Your papa Sess took good care of me."

At that assertion Rin grinned broadly. "Did he kiss it? That always makes Rin's boo boo's feel better."

"Uh….Well …um" Kagome stammered, the color that had drained from her face now returning full force. Even though she had no qualms about kissing Sesshoumaru, her …boo-boo…was in a decidedly intimate place. She felt herself getting flustered just thinking about it.

Rin put her hands on her hips and made a sweeping gesture with Jaken's glasses, looking for a moment very much like an old librarian Kagome remembered very well from primary school. "Well, kiss her boo-boo papa Sess." She chastised in the way only a six year old can.

Sesshoumaru turned a rakish grin on Kagome at which she promptly responded with a warning glare. Something about the way her cheeks colored for him was endearing, he found himself actually thinking of ways to make her blush, something he would have considered a criminal waste of time not too long ago.

His smirk still firmly in place he turned to his daughter. "I will have to kiss it later Rin. We have a busy schedule," he explained, "Rehearsals."

Rin accepted this excuse easily and headed back to torture Jaken some more. He turned back to Kagome, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What are you thinking?" Kagome asked him narrowing her eyes in speculation.

He didn't reply, but the smirk that crossed his face was more than enough for her to know that she probably wouldn't like it. Or perhaps that she would like it a bit too much.

It could go either way at this point.

"You know," she stated giving him a gentle poke in the chest causing him to glare at the offending finger haughtily, "you really should think about getting her a nanny. I think Jaken may be getting too old to handle Rin's particular brand of affection."

Sesshoumaru sighed as he helped her down off the counter, steadying her when she winced slightly as her feet connected with the floor. She was going to be sore tomorrow, that was for sure.

"She does like to torture the old man doesn't she?"

Kagome giggled as they headed back out toward the 'battle field' as Inuyasha dubbed it. They walked in a comfortable silence. Strangely enough neither of them were feeling awkward about being interrupted pre-osculation. A little frustrated perhaps. Disappointed …most definitely, but not discomforted.

They had grown quite contented in each others presence in the short time they had known each other. Even their squabbles held a certain affinity for each other, kindred spirits so to speak. She had a way of breaking down his borders and loosening his tie, just as his mere presence made her feel peaceful and secure.

A completion of something infinitely larger than human understanding…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The rest of the afternoon flew by. Mostly in observation for Kagome's part thankfully, she really wasn't much of a fighter. Not like the rest of them.

The choreography of the battle between Koga and Naraku was viscous and complicated. It would probably take lots of practice to get the moves down to the exact precision that she knew both Takishima brothers would demand.

She learned quickly that it wasn't much different than dancing, just a little more violent and painful at times. Regardless she was loving every minute of it.

After a shower, dinner, and reading Rin a bed time story Kagome was completely wiped out and decided to head on to bed a little early.

Pulling back the heavy duvet and crawling under the sheets she lay there for a while trying to find sleep, but it somehow imagined to dodge her at every turn. It was extremely irritating.

She was exhausted, probably too much so to be perfectly honest. The day had been draining, both physically and mentally and her mind was just too wound up to allow her body to sleep, yet her body was too tired to get up and do anything.

With a heavy sigh she rolled over, a perturbed expression drawing out her features as she stared at the gold toned wall by the door. This was not helping.

She reached out and flipped on her bedside lamp and snatched up her script. Hopefully a little reading would wear her down enough to get some much needed sleep.

Page 25

Kagome thought over what had progressed in the script so far. 'Ok, so far Norihiko was tricked and seriously injured by the dark miko. Miya found him and nursed him back to health, keeping his identity secret. Despite his adamant, and sometimes violent protests, Miya has been helping to rally Norihiko's supporters and has stumbled across the lone survivor from an exterminators village. She is preparing to leave for the western Citadel under the guise of an apprentice exterminator to try to rally more soldiers that remained loyal to Norihiko. Norihiko is not at all happy about it.

**Norihiko**: (angrily) Foolish woman. Do you realize that they will kill you if they find you.

**Miya**: Karu is a strong warrior and I can most certainly hold my own.

**Norihiko**: Not against an entire stronghold full of demons who's main purpose in life is warfare.

**Miya**: Most of whom remain loyal to you. Look, I'm going to mask my aura and my face will be covered the entire time. They'll never even realize who I am. Besides, we may be able to find out what he is planning.

**Norihiko**: (snarls) You will not go .

**Miya**: And just when did I start listening to you.

Norihiko grabs Miya by the throat, a move that would have frightened anyone into submission, but Miya only seems encouraged by his actions

**Norihiko**: I forbid it.

**Miya**: You better be careful Lord Norihiko, someone may start to think you care……

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next day found the main cast and limited crew back on the battle field working through one of the more complex battle scenes that involved nearly all the main actors and a ton of extras, none of whom were present as of yet.

Kagome shifted nervously in her sneakers, her cotton tee shirt and black gym shorts were airy but the heat was still sweltering. The black sports bra she was wearing wasn't helping much either, she could feel herself sweating and it took all of her self control not to swipe at it.

Inuyasha was pacing anxiously around the battlefield spouting out directions to the crew as obstacles and practice dummies were set up on the field.

The first week it had been only the core group of actors participating in the film, but as the weeks progressed it seemed that more people arrived every day. Not all of them stayed of course, but there was a lot more that went into making a movie than Kagome ever thought possible.

Sesshoumaru was seated comfortably in his high backed directors chair just off to the sidelines watching the proceedings with such an ethereal calm, it was almost disturbing. He was like the eye of the storm, the calm place in the melee and ruckus whipping around them like a deadly force.

Kagome at once found herself awed and irritated by it.

Once everyone was in position it was time to work the first sequence of the main battle. It was Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Naraku, and Inuyasha fighting against Kouga, Ayame, and two new guys that just arrived yesterday named Ginta and Hakkau. In the film it would actually be the good guys V.S. the people playing the bad guys plus a bunch of CG and extras playing demon warriors as well.

They had to get the main characters familiar with the scene though before they brought in the extras to keep the confusion to a minimum and to limit the number of takes they had to do in full costume.

Once they were all in position Inuyasha called out a few instructions. Sango and Miroku were to be taking on Ginta and Hakku for this section of the fight, Inuyasha was to be fighting with Ayame, who by the way had the coolest weapon. It was a fighting fan which, once special effects were added, would control the wind. Naraku and Kagome were to be fighting Kouga.

"And Action." Sesshoumaru called once they were all in position. The first take was awkward and stilted, everyone moving in slow motion. After fifteen minutes of working through the scene Sesshoumaru called cut. "Lets focus on the movements between Naraku, Kagome, and Kouga."

The three positioned themselves from the start of the scene once more while the others stood to the side to watch. Inuyasha came up, making minor adjustment to weapon grips and footing positions before Sesshoumaru started the scene again.

They moved in the battle dance slowly, but more gracefully, with Inuyasha calling out suggestions and instructions as they went.

"Ok Kouga, now go for Kagome and Naraku, you pull her out of the way just before he hits. Timing here will be critical."

Kouga did as asked and just as he was instructed Naraku snagged Kagome around the waist and pulled her out of the way. It should have been a perfectly innocent act, but as Kagome was learning quickly… nothing with Naraku was ever as innocent as it should be.

His arm tightened almost painfully around her and she winced. Not only was she uncomfortable being so close to him, he was starting to hurt her, his fingers digging painfully into her ribs.

"Ouch. Not so hard Naraku." She whimpered slightly, but instead of loosening his grip he held tighter. Sesshoumaru had called cut and Inuyasha was barking out critiques and instructions for the next pair up, not noticing that Naraku had yet to release Kagome.

"He stopped the scene Naraku." Kagome stated in a shaky voice. He was making her very nervous and he was pulling her so close to his chest that her toes were barely touching the ground. He ignored her and put his face down in the crook of her neck breathing heavily on her skin.

Kagome was getting angry now, he was definitely crossing the boundaries of her personal space and he was hurting her.

"Let me go!" She told him forcefully, pushing against his arms and chest.

His dark, rumbling laughter blew through her hair frightening her more than the painful grip he had around her ribs. His other hand did not remain idle as it slowly rose, brushing against her side and sliding under the hem of her shirt. "Do you really think you can get away from me little miko?" He whispered against her skin, his tongue flicking out against her neck.

Kagome's eyes widened and she started to struggle against his merciless grip, heedless of the pain that shot through her ribs. She was confused, he was calling her miko…was he still acting?

"I SAID LET GO!" She shouted gaining the attention of the others.

He dug his fingers painfully into her side and she cried out in pain, her knees giving way slightly under her. Before she could even register the movement she found herself in a completely different set of arms as Naraku was jerked away from her by Inuyasha.

A strong arm was wrapped around her waist protectively, firm like an iron band, yet gentle enough not to hurt her. Kagome looked back with wide frightened eyes only to see Sesshoumaru Takishima's fierce glare bearing into Naraku like spikes of ice.

"What the hell do you think your doing Himura?" Inuyasha yelled at the actor, still holding him by the back of the shirt.

Naraku smirked. "Guess I just got carried away." He said nonchalantly, flicking his tongue against his lips and making Kagome cringe at the casual tone he was using after hurting her like that.

And he licked her neck! EWWW!

"Yeah, well pay attention. You could have hurt her." Inuyasha said giving him a rough shove away from them.

Kagome kept waiting for Sesshoumaru to yell at him, to punch his lights out, anything to defend her honor, but there was no response from the young man still holding her possessively. He was glaring furiously at the young dark haired actor, but remained silent.

She wasn't sure why, but Kagome felt a little hurt by this. She could tell he wasn't happy just by the look on his face, but he remained silent. Maybe she was just overreacting about the whole thing, maybe he really did just get carried away with the scene.

"Um…" Kagome said quietly pulling away from Sesshoumaru, "If I'm done for the day I think I'm going to go take a shower." A tightness in her throat and tingling in the tip of her nose made it clear that unless she wanted to make a scene – it was time for her to make her exit.

Sesshoumaru looked at her silently for a moment, his face void but his eyes were a torrent of emotion. With out a word he gave her a curt nod before turning and heading back over to his chair.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she headed for the house, but she wasn't quite sure what it was for. Naraku's man handling or Sesshoumaru's almost total lack of response to it.

She shook her head and swiped at her eyes. There was no way she was going to be a baby about this, it was just ridiculous to be upset over it anyways. It was nothing, just a little over enthusiasm on Naraku's part. Sesshoumaru must see it all the time.

So why didn't that make her fell any better?

She climbed the stairs to her room slowly, wincing at the sharp pains coming from her side. With a sigh she kicked off her shoes leaving them in the middle of the room and began shrugging off her clothes leaving them strewn across the floor on the trip to the bathroom.

Turning on the hot water to let it warm up Kagome stepped up in front of the mirror. The person staring back at her looked tired, maybe Sesshoumaru would give them Saturday off and she could get some well deserved sleep.

Then she noticed it.

With wide eyes she turned to the side lifting her arm to reveal the large purple bruise forming down her side in the distinctive shape of a mans hand print. She poked at it hesitantly, wincing at the sharp jab of pain that shot through her nearly taking her breath away.

Could she have a couple of cracked ribs? It was terribly black and blue and starting to swell. This was more than over enthusiasm.

Kagome climbed under the scalding water trying to wash away the feel of his breath on her skin.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sesshoumaru sat back in his study that evening cradling his head in his hands. Kagome hadn't come down for dinner and when Rin went in to tell her good night she was already asleep.

There were so many thoughts running rampant through his mind at present he knew he couldn't fall asleep even if he wanted to.

It could all be summed up in one word. Kagome. All of his problems at present seemed to stem back to the dark haired woman asleep upstairs.

The visions didn't start until she showed up in his life, Rin wasn't asking for a mother before her, and he most certainly wasn't having the erotic, vivid and frustrating dreams that had plagued his nighttime visage the past few weeks.

He couldn't even explain what it was about her that fascinated him so.

"Pretentious, overly loquacious, disrespectful," he grumbled out loud… and, he let out a long sigh, she was completely endearing.

He found himself drawn to the soft lines of her mouth when she smiled and the way she would wrinkle her nose at him when she was aggravated. The sound of her voice brought a peace to his soul that he was never able to achieve, not even through hours of meditation.

When he heard her cry out in pain this afternoon and saw Naraku with his head buried in her hair, his arms squeezing the air out of her, he felt a surge of anger stronger than anything he'd ever felt before. He wanted to rip Naraku's still beating heart out of his chest and watch the life drain from his eyes.

To be quite frank it disturbed him greatly. He let Inuyasha handle the situation, not trusting himself to open his mouth lest he might really lose control of his rage. Then she pulled away from him and he felt …he couldn't explain it.

Regret perhaps…or remorse for not doing more. She seemed ok though and that was what really mattered.

Naraku said he just got carried away. He didn't believe that for a second, the slimy bastard just wanted to get his hands on Kagome. He had made comments before, but Sesshoumaru just thought he was being his normal pompous, arrogant self.

He had worked with Naraku before, but he was different now. He couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what was different now, the man had always been arrogant and snide and presumptuous, but now he seemed to have almost a malicious under tone to him.

At first he had just taken Naraku's comments with a grain of salt thinking he was just running his mouth, but now…now he had to wonder if he really was a threat to Kagome.

And if he was…what could he do about it?

AN; So, what did you think? Naraku is a disgusting piece of poo, ne? Well if you don't like him now you definitely won't like him in the near future. Poor Kagome, but anything worth while is never easy. Don't forget to Review!

U.C.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer; please see ch.1

The Final Bow

By: Undecidedly Certain

Chapter 10

Midnight Snacks on the Battle Field

Bam!

"Ouch!"

Clink…

"Oh no!"

Wobble….

"No!"

Wobble…

"…."

Clunk…

"Oh, thank god!" Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as she righted the tall vase that amazingly enough hadn't been broken in her blatant bout of clumsiness. If it had, she was fairly certain it would have taken a healthy chunk out of her salary to replace it.

Maybe all of it.

She might have even had to sell herself off to Sesshoumaru as a slave for the rest of her life to cover it…. he seemed the sort to leave priceless artifacts lying around.

Of course in her defense, it was pitch black in the hall and she was balancing an uncomfortably heavy book under her arm while the other hand pressed gingerly against her bruised side.

It was extremely late and she was trying to be quiet so as not to awaken the entire household, but as always when you are trying to be quiet everything in the friggin' world decides to throw its self in your path just to make your life that much more miserable.

That brings us to where we are now. In the middle of the dark hallway playing juggle the heavy book and dodge the priceless Ming vases and other such nonsense that rich people seem to like to keep around, things that have absolutely NO business being in a hallway!

She had been awakened by a gruesomely disturbing dream only to find that her side was throbbing fiercely. With no relief in sight she decided to head down stairs to scour the kitchen for some advil and check out the book her mom had sent, gramps (as usual) had forgotten her request for the book so she decided to skip the middle man all together.

The details of the dream that had pulled her so violently out of slumber were starting to get a little fuzzy around the edges, but it had felt so real, real enough to scare her into consciousness.

At first she was standing on a hillside with someone, watching as two armies, both mighty in stature approached one another. From her vantage point she could pick out several things. The army approaching from the right was sharp looking and very well disciplined. The warriors were clad in shining armor marching in perfectly formed platoons carrying swords and bows, some on horseback, some infantry.

What stood out the most though was the General of that army. He was riding on a huge white stallion at the front of the line leading his men bravely into battle. The horse itself had to be huge because it looked large and muscled even from her distant vantage point. It was decorated in the colors of the army with the lord's crest draped proudly over its back and its mane braided in a strict twisted rope with bright blue ribbons twined in its length.

The general himself was no less grand. His armor shone in the rising sun over the hills on the horizon and his long pale hair seemed to glow with a golden hue in the approaching day. She immediately recognized him as the Sesshoumaru look alike that haunted her visions.

It seemed that he would now be haunting her dreams as well.

The army approaching from the left had no brave general leading them valiantly. They were less organized and more savage looking, most seemed more animal than human, stalking forward with a malevolent

The clash was brutal; the sound of steel hitting steel rang through the valley like thunder as burning arrows flew across the sky like lightening.

Ok, so that part of the dream could be explained away by the amount of time they had spent rehearsing the battle scenes lately. But the next part was what really got to her.

She found herself following the general closely with her eyes as he fought his way through the hordes of demon like creatures. He was an incredible fighter, powerful like none other on the field, but when a straggly warrior snuck up behind him putting a sword through his chest Kagome nearly lost her mind.

Even thinking back upon the dream now was staggering. A wave of dizziness suddenly washed over her and she flung her arm out to steady herself as the familiar sensation of the visions washed over her.

She_ was standing on the hill again, but this time most everything was black and white instead of full color like in her dream. She watched in morbid fascination as the steel pierced through the great generals armor, and even though she couldn't see his face from here she could hear herself calling out to him._

"_SESSHOUMARU!" She yelled!_

_She grabbed the reigns of a horse that was standing nearby and slung her bow over her shoulder as she swung her leg up over the coarse cloth saddle. _

"_Kagome, no!" Someone yelled from behind her and she briefly glanced over her shoulder at a young woman who looked disturbingly like Sango._

"_He needs me." She retorted, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She dug her heels into the horses flanks and sped down the hillside toward the raging battle._

Kagome's head snapped up and she found herself once again in the dark hallway between the stairs and the kitchen.

'That was …different.' Kagome thought, slightly bent over and struggling to get her breathing under control. 'And now Sango is in the visions too!' This just kept getting more and more complicated.

Perhaps this was like one of those psychological thriller movies where the heroin goes through all kinds of mind boggling and unexplainable things and then wakes up in a mental institution where Sesshoumaru is actually her doctor and Sango is a nurse.

Something crazy like that. Maybe she better take two advil…or twelve. A major headache was brewing.

Once her breathing was back under control and she had convinced herself that she was not delusional and even if she was certifiable, there was really nothing she could do about it right now anyway.

Blindly feeling her way down the hall and successfully knocking into three paintings on the walls and one small statuary, Kagome finally made it to the swinging door that led to the kitchen. With a sigh of relief she pushed her way through the door and felt around for the light switch.

She should have known by the third time she stubbed her toe on the way down the hall that things just weren't going to go her way. As soon as she hit the switch the room was illuminated with a brilliant flash of light before there was a faint ZAPH and again she found herself bathed in darkness.

With a very unlady-like snort she stomped into the dark kitchen. Kagome managed to make it to the dinette set with only a minor accident when she bumped into the island counter. Unfortunately she hit right on her bruised ribs resulting in a very colorful string of curses to spew forth from the poor abused girl's mouth.

Once she deposited her load on the table she began the arduous task of finding a light source. The fridge would have a light in it, but leaving the door open for that long wasn't a very good option. She vaguely remembered there being a light over the stove from when she made breakfast a few weeks back.

Bingo. And then there was light. Granted, it wasn't much light, but it was enough to cast a soft glow over to the table. She then proceeded to rummage around the cabinets looking for some sort of painkiller, preferably something strong. Her side felt like it was on fire; even the most casual brush of her arms against it was enough to make her cringe.

Finally she found a bottle of Tylenol tucked back in a corner cabinet and was groaned mournfully when she found that there were only two left. With as much pain as she was in she would have needed at least three. Oh well, it was still better than nothing.

She sauntered back over to the table casually clinking the pills around in their little plastic bottle realizing that she would need something to wash them down with. Kagome never was able to swallow pills dry, unlike Yuka who swore she could swallow anything dry. Kagome figured that meant something dirty but when she asked Yuka only laughed and refused to tell her.

Upon throwing open the massive stainless steel door and being bathed in a heavenly light Kagome was met with a sight that quite nearly made her knees buckle. Apparently Kaede had been busy that afternoon because there right at her eye level was a luscious, creamy, chocolaty pan of Oreo cream pie.

Had it been anything other than Oreo's she could have resisted. With out a moments hesitation she snatched up the pie and the gallon of milk, grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and made her way back to the table.

She popped the lid off the half full gallon of milk and dug out a spoonful of Oreo pie.

Oh…. oh God…she would have to remember to kiss Kaede in the morning. This was positively sinful, it almost made all the crap she'd gone through today worth wile.

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Sesshoumaru bolted upright in his bed, a cold sweat pouring down his face. He'd been having the strangest dream. He was leading an army of thousands into battle. Lethal looking spiked armor crossed his chest and ran over his shoulder, and an odd fur pelt was hung heavily over his shoulder.

He could hear the metallic sounds of weapons and armor behind him, smell the sweet smell of the grass after the heavy dew of morning, and literally feel the tension in the air.

The battle began in a giant clash of weapons, steel against steel and the whoosh of arrows flying overhead. In his hand Tokijin was gripped firmly, spilling the blood of any foes foolish enough to cross his path painting the ground brilliant red.

A great pain shot suddenly shot through his chest, piercing and cold as the grip of death tightened around him. Right before he was ripped from the battle and into consciousness he heard someone yelling his name. Someone that sounded uncannily like Kagome.

Staring in the darkness that surrounded him and panting heavily he raised his hand to his chest as if to feel for a wound that he was certain wouldn't be there. The pain had been quite real, but was that what brought him back into the conscious world, or was it Kagome's voice calling out to him? Was that part of the dream, or was that real?

With everything that happened earlier he figured he better check into it.

Pulling himself out of bed and headed for the stairs. She wasn't in her room, or in Rin's room so he headed down stairs. Once he reached the kitchen he paused. There were very…intimate sounds coming from the other side of the door, though he wasn't quite sure who it was at first. He didn't want to walk in on Miroku and Sango going at it on his kitchen table, though the thought irritated him to no end.

"mmmmm…"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at the erotic sounding moan and subconsciously moved closer to the door.

"Oh…oh god that's good."

Ok, that was definitely Kagome. A sudden surge of rage heated his blood at the thought of someone else being with Kagome like that. If it was Inuyasha… he silently swore to kill him. With out a second thought about preserving other peoples modesty he burst through the door, an angry scowl on his face.

And he froze in his tracks as Kagome looked up at him guiltily…a piece of chocolate cookie crumb stuck to her bottom lip. Her spoon was in the process of digging out another bite from the pan and the open milk carton was set next to her.

The scowl slid sideways off his face and he had to restrain himself from laughing when she blushed at being caught with her hand almost literally in the cookie jar.

"Heh…hey there Sesshoumaru." She grinned sheepishly and held a spoonful up toward him. "wanna bite?"

He strode over to the table, noting that she was wearing a pair of silk pajama shorts and a matching tank top. Kagome's eyes widened when he squatted down in front of her chair and gazed up at her with an almost amused look on his face.

Her breath caught in her throat as his hand rose up and gently embraced her jaw; she felt her heartbeat pick up at the sensations such and innocent touch invoked in her. Subconsciously she leaned into his touch, fighting with the urge to let her eyes flutter and close.

"What are you doing Kagome?" His voice was soft but commanding and Kagome found herself blushing once more.

"I…uh…was hungry…and um it just looked so good…I…"

He chuckled softly, the sound rumbling through his chest like the gentle thunder from a far off storm. "I meant why are you awake at three in the morning?"

"Oh."

Well duh. She blushed even darker and realized that he had yet to remove his hand from her face. Was he going to kiss her? She really hoped so; she had been waiting for weeks for him to kiss her again. Oh god? What if she had morning breath? And she must look awful! Her hair was probably a rat's nest!

"I had a weird dream and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to come down here and read for a while."

"Why did you not read in your bedroom?"

"I was hungry too." A pensive look crossed her face. What was this, twenty questions after midnight? Hey, and wasn't she supposed to be mad at him about earlier? Why did he care if she decided to read down here instead of in her bedroom?

His thumb reached out and brushed the crumbs from Kagome's bottom lip, causing the girl to automatically dart her tongue out and moisten the appendage. "I can see that. Apparently you were too hungry to get a plate as well, or were you planning on eating the whole thing?"

"No!" She felt her temper mounting as he pulled his hand away from her face. "You know, you really need to lighten up a little Sesshoumaru. You're such a stick in the mud."

He made no reply, merely cocked a brow at her. Kagome promptly replied by cocking her own brow in a silent challenge to his wooden demeanor.

That began one of the strangest staring contests known in the entire history of mankind. Both sat frozen with the exact same 'The Rock-esque' expression on their faces until Kagome cracked. Her lip began twitching first. Then her eyes began to water and her nose itched when some unidentified dust particle decided to float in.

With a soft giggle she dropped 'the people's eyebrow' and smiled warmly at the man in front of her, nearly falling out of her chair when he actually smiled back.

'God, no wonder he never smiles. Amorous females would rip him apart if he flashed that around too much. That should be illegal.'

When her hand, of it's own accord of course, reached out to gently trace the soft curve of his lips she realized she was staring and had the decency to blush and turn away slightly.

"So, um, did I wake you up?" She asked lightly trying to cut some of the tension.

"No, I don't believe so."

She shot a questioning look at him. "What do you mean 'you don't believe so'?"

"I also had a strange dream. I heard you call out to me just as I awoke and wasn't sure if it was part of the dream or not so I came to check on you. When I found your room empty I came to look for you."

"Awww! You were worried about me! Admit it! Go on! Admit it!"

He simply rolled his eyes, but of course that was as good as any affirmative he could possibly give her. She just smiled giddily before scooping up another bite of her desert, but instead of eating it herself she thrust the spoon at him.

"You have to try this." she pushed the spoon at him. "Please."

The sad puppy eyes: his only kryptonite. Why did she have to know that trick out of all of them? She and Rin were conspiring against him.

With a sigh he opened his mouth degrading himself to being fed like a child.

"Oh, stop looking all broody." Kagome scolded lightly. "It's not silly to be fed by someone, its sexy."

His eyes widened at her perceptiveness to his state of mind, but the girl remained oblivious.

"Ano, Sesshoumaru. Your dream, it wasn't about a battle was it?" She asked pensively looking down at the massive book on the table in front of her.

He nodded, but made no move to speak. He was chewing.

"That's kind of weird huh? Us having the same dream and all."

"It is."

"Should I go get the notebook?"

"I think it is worth noting."

"Ok I'll be right back." She hopped up and bounded toward the door, Sesshoumaru watching as the light reflected off the dark silk of her pajamas as she scurried away.

Once she was gone he managed to pull himself up in her chair, raising a hand run through his sleep-tousled hair. Now they were even sharing dreams, what next? Mental telepathy? This had to stop, but it seemed irrepressible. The only course of action seemed to be to let it run its course. He felt completely powerless in this matter, a feeling that he was not at all found of.

The book on the table before him was in pretty bad shape and looked ancient. He ran a finger gently across the faded leather binding that was pulling away from itself and saw that along the top corner there seemed to be some water damage.

There were no words on the cover, no title, just an ancient crest. It was kind of hard to make out, the old leather having worn down so much with the years, but it appeared to be two palms, one large and tipped with deadly claws and the other small and delicate. Obviously a man and a woman, or a demon and a woman, it was kind of hard to tell. The palms were not touching, but a small spherical object was floating between them. No other details could be made out.

His eyes moved from the worn cover of the book… to the pan of Oreo pie. He was unable to deny himself the pleasure of another taste, only this time in a more dignified manner.

He had to admit, it was rather good. Kaede had out done herself with this one.

Now that his sweet tooth had been sated he needed something to wash it down with. He warily eyed the milk carton sitting innocently on the table, seemingly calling out to him with its cool dairy goodness. Frowning he looked across the kitchen to the cabinet where the glasses were held.

It wasn't a distance that would, under normal circumstances, be considered significant, but at 3 am even he was disinclined to move out of the chair to make the trip.

His glare snapped back to the milk carton on the table, the black and white cow on the label was smirking arrogantly at him as if to say 'you know you want to'.

Eerily enough it kind of reminded him of his brother.

With one last glance at the door to see if he was still alone, Sesshoumaru swiped up the already open carton and brought it to his lips.

"AH HA!" Kagome yelled from the doorway startling Sesshoumaru into spewing the mouthful of milk across the table. "See! I knew you did it too!" She squealed happily and grabbed a towel to clean up his mess.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, just glared heatedly at that cow. It must be of some relationship to Inuyasha, he always said that the boy was a bit bovine after all.

They plotted this out together; Inuyasha would have to pay.

Kagome was grinning from ear to ear as she began to wipe up the milk, noticing that Sesshoumaru was staring with extreme prejudice at the carton. "Oh please, its not the cartons fault you got caught." Kagome commented as she finished up, tossing the towel in the sink.

He started, amazed yet again at her insight of his inner dialogue. No one had ever read him so well, not even his father.

"Besides," she continued, completely oblivious to his surprise, "it just makes you seem more human."

"More human? And just what else would you presume me to be?" He asked with as much dignity as he could muster after being caught drinking from the milk jug, then spewing said milk across the table.

"You know." She said grabbing the spoon and shoving another bite in her mouth.

He studied her face as she flipped open the note book and began to write with the spoon in her mouth. "Enlighten me."

He was curious as to what her answer would be. This girl, this plain, ordinary girl who had captivated him so, what did she think of him?

She paused in her perusal of the notebook in front of her and looked up at him. Honeyed hazel locked with midnight sky for what seemed like and eternity before Kagome sighed and rested her chin in her hand and sighed.

"You know, you're one of the 'beautiful people', nice to look at but completely untouchable."

"Hn." 'So she thinks I am untouchable.' he thought with a bit of a scowl. 'But she also said I am nice to look at.'

"But," she said almost wistfully, "I'm coming to realize that you're just a man, a very talented man, but a man none the less. Besides, anyone who would take in an abandoned baby and raise her as his own gets major points in my book." She gave him a warm smile before blushing and turning back to the notebook.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes as Kagome recorded the events of her dream before passing it over to him.

He too began to write down his account of the dream, startled at the striking similarities. It was as if they both had the same dream from different points of view.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she ran her hands over the cover of the book he had been examining himself earlier. She seemed just as fascinated with the embossed leather as he had been.

"What is that?" He asked casually, closing the notebook and pushing it to the side.

"Hmmm? Oh, well it's supposed to be the original legend of the Shikon no tama, I remember reading it as a kid, grandpa keeps all kinds of old books in his library and I was bored one day. From what I remember of it, it reminded me of the script and the visions a bit, so I asked my mom to send it to me, but this isn't the book I remember."

"No?"

"No, this one looks older…much older. Actually, I don't remember seeing this one at all. If gramps finds out she sent me one of the original texts he'll have a fit." She stared down at the book with a look of indecision before looking back at Sesshoumaru. "Do you want to look with me?"

He nodded and she scooted her chair around to him till they were nearly touching. Once situated, she reached out and grasped the cover of the old book, still slightly hesitant.

"I don't know why, but I feel kind of nervous about opening this." She said with a nervous smile. "Kind of silly huh?"

"Not really, there may be answers to many of our questions in this book. We may not like all of them."

Her smile brightened considerably, and with a determined nod, she opened the book.

DUN, DUN, DUN! Hey, hey, hey! Put the pitchforks down people! I'll update soon I promise! Next chapter we will get some long over due answers! Finally! And maybe a little fluff too, ne? Anyways, don't forget to review.

U.C.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: it is as it was as it ever shall be! ( very philosophical, aye?)

AN: (Authoress creeps nervously to center stage, looking guilty and a bit frightened) Hi (ducks tomato) heh, yeah I guess I deserve that (dodges watermelon) that too ( dives off stage as a 1974 Volkswagen bug is hurled on stage) Now that's going a little far don't you think? Anyways. Sorry for the delay, hope you enjoy.

The Final Bow

By Undecidedly Certain

Chapter 11

Revelations and more Questions

Last time

"I don't know why, but I feel kind of nervous about opening this." she said with a nervous smile. "Kind of silly, huh?"

"Not really. There may be answers to many of our questions in this book. We may not like all of them."

Her smile brightened considerably, and with a determined nod she opened the book.

Now

With nervous hands Kagome reached out and gingerly pulled back the old tanned binding: it peeled away from the faded parchment like an old banana peel. The leather felt soft and worn against her skin, very natural, not like the processed leather of today. It had a quality of workmanship lost long ago to the impatience of man.

It was strange to find such an old manuscript bound in such a way; most were in scroll form. It had to be one of the earliest examples of bound script – which was why jii-san was going to bust a nut if anything happened to it.

The first page of the book was brushed by hand in beautiful kanji, obviously done by a skilled scribe. It really should have been in a museum, lucky for them that jii-san was such a grabby fellow, and they'd have never been able to get their hands on it once it was behind glass.

The first page read only this:

_Heed the days of old and ye shall find absolution._

Kagome cocked her head to the side and read it again. That seemed like an odd opener for a legend. Then again, maybe not; If it was more than just a legend…

She cast a sideways glance at Sesshoumaru who seemed to be looking for hidden meaning as well, his skillfully chiseled face set in hard, concentrated lines. The tense feeling of foreboding sunk into the depths of her stomach. This was not at all what she'd planned for her summer.

With a shrug Kagome gently lifted the corner of the ancient rice paper, yellowed and thinned with age, and turned the page carefully so as not to damage it in any way. The next page began a little more traditionally. In the way that any good storyteller would begin: it began with an introduction.

_I am but a traveling monk, a humble servant set upon this earth if for no other reason than to record the events that have changed the lives of many and quite possibly the fate of this mortal world as well. I do not know all of the finer details or proceedings for I myself did not join in the plight until our lands were teetering on the precipice of destruction, but I will relay to the best of my knowledge the events leading up to the war for the Shikon no tama. _

_It is said that at the breaking of dawn in a peaceful village on the boarder of Mushashi one spring day a woman child was brought into this world with a destiny greater than height of mount Fuji. The child was said to be beautiful and full of life and possessing of a great amount of spiritual power. She had a soul so pure that it reached out and touched everything around her, cleansing those around her of hate and ailments, purifying evil and reaching out to the good in all creation. _

_When this woman child came of age she was entrusted with a great task. The Shikon no tama, a jewel of great and terrible power, was commended into her protection for she alone possessed the power to keep its power pure and untainted. _

_The woman child grew into a beautiful young woman, a miko of great power, but she was flawed. Her compassionate heart would not allow her to kill gratuitously. Perhaps, in the end, it was her greatest strength as well as her greatest weakness. _

_A great evil arose in the land, origins unknown, but it was rumored that a man with heart of black called upon the demons to feast upon his flesh in exchange for their power. This evil was neither man nor Youkai nor truly Hanyou for his blood was tainted with malice and his heart was vice. _

_This evil set upon his sights the Shikon no tama seeking its power to remove his human blood and become immortal, but his human heart betrayed him. He became obsessed with the beautiful protector of the jewel and lusted after her, coveting her and the jewel for his own. The miko was too powerful so stealing her away was futile, and though he could have killed her his human heart would not allow it. _

_Setting his sights once more on power this evil aligned himself with the great demon lord of the west, biding his time under his service like a serpent lying in wait to strike its prey under the cover of deceit and darkness. _

_Using a dark sorceress the psudo-hanyou ensnared the great Western lord. The young lord was grievously injured before he was able to free himself. The pseudo-hanyou escaped to evade his death at the demon lord's claws, but the lord himself was injured nearly to the point of death. _

_The miko found and healed the demon lord, despite his violent protests and together they built a great army to take back the western lands that had been claimed by the pseudo-hanyou. _

_It was unheard of for demon and miko to work hand in hand and it was rumored that the lord had attained the woman's services by force, or that the miko was on a god sent mission to rid the world of such great evil, but the truth of the situation was much simpler. _

_She was in love with the demon lord and he her, though he was disinclined to admit it, such things were forbidden. Miko and demons were sworn enemies. Miko were taught from the beginning of their training that demons were evil, a taint to the world, while demons believed that humans were inferior and insignificant. _

_This particular miko took no heed of the ancient teachings, her innocence and reverence of all life showed her that demons, as with men, could be good or evil or simply somewhere in between. Her universal acceptance of everyone she came across and her open honesty and fearless spirit drew people to her in droves. The great demon lord was no exception. He had no more power to deny the pull of destiny than to deny that the sun rises in the east or that summer will fade to fall._

_It was inevitable for two such souls to merge. A balance was needed between the world of man an Youkai and these two willing vessels were unable to deny. _

_The army raised by the miko and demon lord was unlike any other ever heard of. Men, Youkai, and hanyou all working together, fighting together, living together, and dying together came to understand what our young miko was born knowing; that blood does not determine the color of your soul. _

_When the great battle came the demon lord demanded that the miko remain on the outside of the skirmish, but she could not remain idle for long. When the demon lord was injured she rode into the heart of battle, the trail of her power blazing hotter than the sun. _

_It was a glorious sight as she joined him in battle. They fought side by side eventually defeating the enemy army, but unfortunately the pseudo hanyou escaped with his life. _

_This is where our story should end, but unfortunately the pseudo hanyou was not willing to relinquish his claim to either the miko or the tama. The demon lord and the miko should have lived happily ever after, but duty and malevolence stood between……_

Kagome turned the page looking for the rest of the story, but the next two pages had been torn out.

"No!" Kagome shouted in outrage. "It can't just end like that! Who would tear out the end of the story?"

"Hm." Sesshoumaru commented flipping lazily through the rest of the pages. The rest of the book was filled with maps and statistics and other odds and ends deemed record able at the time. Nothing worth reading at nearly 4 am.

He closed the book and looked over at Kagome. She had her head buried in the cradle of her arms, her dark hair spilling about her in waves. He actually began to ponder whether or not she'd fallen asleep when her head popped up suddenly.

"Well that was totally useless." She grumped, placing her chin on her fist dejectedly.

Sesshoumaru nodded, silently studying her face. She looked so beautiful sitting there shadowed dramatically by the darkness around them. "It did concur directly with the visions we've been seeing though. At least we have an idea what we're dealing with."

"I guess." She sighed letting her elbows slide out from under her so her chin rested directly on the table. " So…what do we do now?"

He couldn't stop the wry grin that spread across his face if he tried. "Well seeing as it's nearly 4 am, we could go to bed."

"Why Sesshoumaru, how lewd." She said as regally as she could while mimicking his customary quirked brow. He really did smile this time. She was just so…amusing.

His smile was so beautiful; Kagome's heart seemed to speed up at the sight of it. No wonder he didn't smile more, he'd risk attack by amorous fan girls if he did. It could even be a new reality series. 'When horny fan girls attack'. Maybe they'd let her host.

When she started to giggle out loud at the insane turn her thoughts were taking, Sesshoumaru placed a gentle hand against her forehead, checking for fever. She giggled again, a happy flush coloring her cheeks as she conciliating waved him off.

"Sorry." She said softly with a playful glint in her eyes. " I get kind of silly when I'm tired."

"So I've noticed." He smirked then. "Though, you are usually silly whether you are tired or not."

"True…True."

The sat there looking into each other's eyes for a few moments, content just to be so near, when the heavy pull of sleep began to weigh at her eyelids. Before she knew what was going on she was being gently scooped into a pair of strong arms and carried upstairs.

Sighing in contentment Kagome snuggled her head under his chin and wrapped her arms around his neck breathing in his heavenly scent. 'Hmm' she thought dazedly, 'he even smells good in the middle of the night.'

Kagome felt as light in his arms as Rin did, only with a longer and more lithe frame. When Kagome's' slender arms came up around his neck, her soft breathing fanned against the sensitive skin of his neck and her hair tickled his chin. He could hear her breathing starting to even out and knew that she was drifting off to sleep.

'At least one of us is.' He thought irritated, though a soft smile tugged at his lips. It was truly amazing the way this girl seemed to lure his guard down in a way it had for no other. 'Even though she completely drives me crazy.'

At the top of the stairs he turned right down the hall and pushed her door open with his foot. The moon cast a soft blue glow over her bed from the window making her burgundy bedspread look like black silk in the dark.

Standing next to her bed he felt for the first time an almost irrepressible urge to do something completely unproductive with his time.

He just wanted to hold her, though it would serve no real purpose - he just wasn't ready to let go of her yet.

She looked so beautiful; her head tucked comfortably against his shoulder, a soft smile playing about her soft pink lips. A voiceless sigh escaped him when he caught his gaze lingering. He felt so drawn and frustratingly attracted to her. Every time they managed to end up alone either someone interrupted or, as in the current situation, she was in no condition for what he had in mind.

Gently he lowered her to the bed, but as he was pulling his arms from beneath her his hand grazed her side.

Kagome jolted awake with a gasp and bolted upright, her hands going protectively over her ribs. It had been such a gentle touch, yet it had sent a tremor of pain through her strong enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Wide blue sleep hazed eyes surveyed the situation; quickly realizing that Sesshoumaru had carried her up to bed. "I-I'm sorry…you just startled me." She lied hoping it was late enough to be convincing.

Sesshoumaru, unfortunately, wasn't buying.

With a tight frown pulling at his handsome features he gently removed Kagome's hand from its protective pose at her side. He guided her gently down on the bed and lifted her shirt, quieting her protests with a forceful glare, stopping them before they could even roll off her tongue.

Kagome's breath quickened even though she knew what he was doing was clinical. She'd never been so close to a man, a man she was seriously attracted to, in a bed. The implications were innocent enough, but her poor virgin body was excited by his nearness just the same.

He sucked in a sharp breath and Kagome dropped back to earth like a rock. She knew what he was seeing, how bad it looked.

Even in the pale light he could see the dark purple bruise covering nearly the entire breadth of her tiny rib cage; a bruise in the shape of a man's hand. Sesshoumaru's jaw clenched in anger as his hand tenderly traced the swollen marks marring her fair flesh, his rage escalating when she winced at such a feather soft touch.

Kagome watched in fascination as his eyes narrowed at the bruise. Even though it hurt, his touch was welcome and comforting in a way. When he hit a particularly tender spot with his fingertips and she winced - his jaw clenched and his eyes flashed in the moonlight. Yellow? Was that even possible?

Before she even got a chance to ponder whether her eyes were deceiving her with a trick of the light Sesshoumaru dipped his head down to her side. 'What the hell is he…' but all thought flew right out of her head as she felt something silky and wet caress her skin. 'Is he…. Oh my god, he's licking me?' Of course it was having a rather strange effect on her, instead of grossing her out like it probably should have, a man she had only known a few months 'licking her wounds' so to speak, it was turning her on.

Really turning her on.

In all honest, Sesshoumaru seemed to have lost control of his motor skills the moment he laid eyes on the swelling contusion against her side. It felt like something primal that had been laying dormant inside him suddenly sprung to life and took control of his body.

Before he knew what he was doing he had his face buried in her side, his tongue making long, sweeping strokes across her hot, inflamed skin. There really was no explanation coming to mind as he searched for answers, any answer, as to why he would want to lick her…ok, lets rephrase that…why he would want to lick her injured side. It just didn't make any sense.

And yet he couldn't pull away. He felt compelled to coat every inch of marred skin with his tongue, as if it would make it better.

Kagome couldn't explain the feelings he was stirring in her just from such a simple, and very weird action. She was feeling flushed and tingly and incredibly warm, yet her skin prickled with goose bumps with every languid stroke he made. His tongue was warm and silky, leaving a trail of wet skin rapidly cooling in the night air in its wake. For the love of God, if he didn't stop she was going to lose her mind. She barely even registered that almost all of the pain was gone.

"Unnn…" She squeaked pitifully before clearing her throat and trying again. "Er..Sess-ohhhh" A heat like she had never experienced engulfed her face at her outward expression of just how good he was making her feel. She had to try again before this got out of hand. "Se-Sesshoumaru." She whispered urgently. "What are you doing?" Her voice had taken a slightly desperate edge, that being the deciding factor that finally caught his attention through his primordial haze.

Pulling his head up from her side Sesshoumaru noticed several things that he should have been aware of all along. A healthy flush covered Kagome from her hairline right down to where it disappeared under the collar of her tank top. Also his traitorous hand had evidently taken upon its self to slowly inch up underneath the scrap of silk bunched below her breasts until it was mere millimeters away from claiming its prize.

Also, he was now in dire need of a cold shower.

Slowly withdrawing his hands from her shirt so as not to startle her, he gently arose from the side of her bed. Unable to meet he eyes he simply headed for the door, calling out a quiet 'get some sleep' before disappearing down the hall.

He stalked off toward his bedroom absolutely furious. His hands were balled into tight fists, so tight he could feel his nails biting into the flesh of his palm. He was angry with Naraku for inflicting such damage on such a beautiful creature as Kagome, angry that he would have the gall to touch what belonged to him. But most of all he was angry with himself. Angry that he felt so damn possessive over the frustrating woman, and angry at his strange, neigh uncontrollable behavior. He despised being out of control and even more; he despised embarrassment and damn if he didn't feel both right now.

Flinging his door shut behind him, Sesshoumaru made straight for his private bathroom fully intent on slapping some sense into himself with a good dose of cold water. Not even bothering with the light he went straight for the sink turning the cold water on full, reveling in the sharp splattering the water made slapping against the marble.

Catching some of the cool water in his cupped hands, he splashed it on his face, the cold bringing his skin to life with tingles. He splashed a few more handfuls before rearing back and letting the cold droplets trail down his neck. Opening his eyes in the dark he started to reach for the hand towel, but stopped at what he caught sight of in the mirror.

He could barely make out his silhouette in the darkened mirror, but that's not what startled him. What had him on edge was the fact that his eyes were glowing; glowing yellow, standing out like spotlights in a darkened field.

Quickly, yet never taking his eyes off the image in the mirror he moved to flip on the lights. As the light flickered into the room, his eyes stayed glued in wonder at the sight before him. His eyes…they were…yellow. Nearly gold, but undeniably inhuman in hue.

He reached his hand out to touch the image in the mirror reverently. What was happening to him. When his suddenly talon like fingernails clicked against the reflective glass he jerked his head almost violently, eyes falling to his hand, or more specifically…his wrist. Two fading red stripes wrapped themselves around the slender appendage like some sort of odd tribal tattoos.

Tattoos…..

'_You had long hair and …tattoos_.' Kagome's words echoed through his mind like a drop of water in a dry basin.

He watched as his nails retracted back to where they belonged and the markings on his wrists began to fade. His gaze shot up to his reflection in the mirror, disturbed as his eyes faded from yellow to hazel.

'What in hell is happening to me?'

AN: Okey dokey! Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be more about the actual filming getting ready to begin, and some more fan service, and the beginning of the end of Naraku's acting career! Yeah!

And don't forget to review!

U.C.


	12. Chapter 12

I dedicate this chapter to the anonymous reviewer known only as Merlin. I have made it my personal goal to embarrass you in public (you know what I mean!). Wish me luck. All standard disclaimers still hold.

ALL NEW CONTENT! Bet you never saw that one comming!

The Final Bow

By Undecidedlycertain

Chapter 12

The next morning dawned with the ferocity of a hurricane. The raucous was enough to drag even Kagome from the iron grip that sleep had wrapped around her. It sounded like a construction site had suddenly sprung up in the front yard of Sesshoumaru's estate and they had no qualms about waking up the entire countryside.

Groaning irritably, she tried to pull the spare pillow over her head to dull the noise, she found it already occupied by another member of the house hold who was obviously also trying to escape such a rude early morning wake up call. A small tuft of chocolate brown hair was her only clue as to her beds new inhabitant.

She couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of it, or the warmth that seemed balloon up in her chest at the thought. Rin had taken to climbing into her bed in the mornings as of the last couple of weeks. More often than not Kagome would wake up with a face full of that sweet smelling baby fine hair when the child would snuggle as close as physically possible with out being completely on top of her.

Kagome basked in the snuggling; who could resist such a thing.

Somewhere deep down she knew she was getting attached to the child, and somewhere even deeper down, in a place she tried valiantly to ignore, she knew she was getting attached to her father as well. Not just some silly crush, no she was starting to get to know the subtleties and nuances that made up Takishima Sesshoumaru.

Of course he still managed to catch her off guard every once in a while.

Last night for instance. An unbidden tremor ran through her at the thought of what had transpired the night before, or more aptly, what could have transpired.

What was the deal with him licking her anyway? Not that she was complaining, the feel of his tongue on her skin was enough to turn her to jelly.

Strike that…just the thought of his tongue on her skin was enough to turn her to jelly. The actual act was enough to set her on fire in a house made of paper. A very reckless endeavor indeed, especially when the only water to extinguish that fire was from the tongue that ignited it to begin with.

Strangely enough – not to mention embarrassing – she was fairly certain he hadn't meant it to be a sensual act. Well, not at first anyway, but then his hand… and her shirt and…hmmm.

Even more unsettling, the pain was gone this morning and the bruise faded to a pale sickly yellow as opposed to the dark bluish – purple blotch it was last night. How exactly was that possible? His eyes glowing she could easily write off as a fluke – a trick of the light, but this…this really had no acceptable explanation. Super healing saliva? Yeah, right.

A soft sigh escaped her as she began to gently thread her fingers through Rin's sleep tousled hair, partially from frustration, partially from confusion.

What did she really want from him anyway? For some reason Sesshoumaru didn't seem the 'boyfriend' type, at least not in the traditional sense anyway. So what would all of this lead to?

At the rate they seemed to be going, all signs pointed to sex. But would she just be a passing fling? A fruitless conquest for a good lay? As enticing as the thought was, Kagome was simply not that sort of girl, regardless of how her body reacted to his touch. She would not be some idle plaything.

A righteous indignation took root, showing itself in the determined set of her jaw. She would just have to make him work for it.

Winning Kagome Higurashi would be no simple victory. With a mischievous smirk Kagome began to think of ways to snub him for thinking she would be 'easy prey', completely ignoring the part of her conscience that kept nudging her with the fact that her accusations were completely baseless and unfounded.

It was of no account really. Isn't that what all men are after in the end anyway?

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

For Sesshoumaru, the new day started a scant two hours after it had ended. When his alarm went off at 6:30 he was half tempted to through it off the balcony into the pool.

Why not, he thought tetchily, Inuyasha had done it often enough that he had ordered a bulk supply of the cheap noise boxes.

Alas, better judgment won out in the end when he remembered exactly what day it was and what all had to be done.

When he stepped in his bathroom to shower he was immensely relieved to find that he was no longer covered in stripes and glowing like a poltergeist. Ok, well maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it still did nothing to explain away what had occurred the night before.

Hopefully Kagome didn't think he was completely insane.

A very Inuyasha-like snort escaped him as the droplets of warm water cascaded from the showerhead, plastering his platinum hair to his forehead. Rivulets skirted down the bridge of his nose, dripping onto his slightly parted lips.

The taste of her skin, warm and sweet, was vivid; he was actually startled by how quickly his body responded to just the memory. The feel of warm, soft ivory skin beneath his hands, contrasting with the cool silk of her top was enough to make him groan miserably with want.

Had he ever felt this way about another woman? He couldn't recall. And through it all, his mind kept repeating a single question. Did she think enough of him to let him get his hands on her like that again? Or had he scared her off with his unaccountable behavior?

Since when did he care what other people thought of him?

Since Kagome, he supposed, but it was a bit unnerving to think that she'd already wormed her way under his skin in such a short amount of time.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"We're heading back this afternoon."

"Really? That's wonderful darling." Mrs. Higurashi's voice chimed in delight over the phone. "I've certainly missed our Sunday afternoon tea. Are you free this weekend? Even movie stars have to spare a few minutes for their poor old mothers every now and again."

A pang of guilt seared through her middle, she really hadn't called as often as she should have. She felt an awful wash of homesickness at her mother's words. "Of course mama." She coiled the springy phone cord around her little finger as many times as she could, then unwound it and started again. Why did she opt for a cordless phone again? The cord was way fun. "I've missed you too- and you're not old mama."

"Aaaaa, yes I've trained you quite well." She said with an amused sort of thoughtfulness. "I'm not old, just distinguished."

Kagome sighed affectionately, "Yes mama, _very_ distinguished."

"Watch it." She warned, but there was no real malice behind it, then sighed wistfully "But really, you must be having so much fun."

"I guess..." she admitted grudgingly.

"Oh come now," her mother chided gently, "just because I'm stuck here doesn't mean that I don't want everyone else to have fun. If I cant live vicariously though my daughter what good is it to have one with such an interesting life?"

"Mama, it's really not so grand as you're making it out to be. I mean the estate is beautiful and all, and the view is unbelievable, but we're working eight and ten hours a day and training like we're going to war. You wouldn't believe some of the exercises they make us do."

"It sounds lovely, and you shouldn't begrudge yourself something so good for you. It will make you strong."

Another wash of guilt; she was going to drown in it today for sure. Her mother had been confined to a wheel chair for the last year due to her failing health. She knew better than to apologize though. That was the last thing her mother wanted.

"I know, and it does. But I'm just saying that it's not all glitz and glamour. Its a lot of hard work and memorizing things and learning things." Her mother waited patiently, knowing the build up for what it was instinctively. "But we were fitted for our costumes a yesterday!"

"Really! How exciting! You'll have to tell me all about it when you come over. But tell me – has the slayer given into the monks advances yet or is she still playing hard to get?"

Kagome giggled. "Mama, they're actors _playing_ a monk and a slayer.

"Oh it doesn't matter. Indulge an old woman, our phone conversations have gotten better than my afternoon soaps lately."

"You're not old, mama." Kagome reiterated in affectionate exasperation while batting at the sea foam green tassel of the cushion on the antique style couch in the drawing room, "and no: she's still holing out, but I think he's finally wearing her down."

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"Kagome! Kagome! She's Rin's bestest friend! Kagome! Kagome!"

"Do you think we'll be back by dinner?" Sango, who had jumped into their car at the last moment to avoid the grabby – and by grabby we mean more grabby than usual – Miroku, who had stood up with his body half hanging out of the sun roof in front of them with his arms spread wide and a look of mock betrayal on his face.

She ran a hand through her long ponytail, wincing when she caught a snag and trying her best to not let the very loud, very excited bundle of mountain dew induced energy sitting between them get to her. It was a valiant effort, but Jaken was an evil little toad of a man, and Rin would not be ignored.

"I don't know," Kagome yelled back, a tired look overcoming her face when Rin upped her 'Ode to Kagome' a notch to compensate. "Why?"

"Kagome! Kagome! Kagooooooome! She's so pretty and so smart…and what rhymes with smart?"

"That's easy Rin." Inuyasha interrupted with a grin, "F- "

"HEART!" Sango and Kagome yelled at the same time, both sending the completely unabashed young man their own version of the evil eye.

Sesshoumaru, who had been trying to go over semantics about the set development with his brother, rubbed at the bridge of his nose in a pained fashion.

"and…" Rin began again, though somewhat quieter. For now. "…She's got a heart. She's Kagome! Rin's favorite Kagome!"

Inuyasha sniggered, Sesshoumaru ignored, Sango rolled her eyes, and Kagome turned slightly pink.

"I've been craving Hiri – oto's for weeks now. If I don't get some good Oden soon I'm going to crack." Sango told Kagome with a grin over the bouncy brown head that seemed to be in perpetual motion today.

"Ohhh! I love oden!" Kagome grinned. She could feel herself beginning to salivate. Mmmm….Oden…

"We can go together!" Sango said giddily. "Girls night out!"

"Kagome! Kagooooommmmme! KAGOME!" Rin chanted at the top of her lungs.

The warning signs were all there – the white knuckled tapping on his laptop keyboard, the tell tale clenching in his jaw, and Inuyasha's almost anticipatory grin - luckily Kagome read them all immediately. Papa Sess was about to blow a gasket.

"Ok, Rin." She said quickly, sharing a nervous glance with Sango, who also picked up on the palatable irritation floating around the small interior of the car. "How about we play a game?"

"KAG – game?" Her little cheeks were red, whether from the exertion of singing at the top of her lungs or the caffeine pumping through her system, putting her normal exuberance into overdrive.

"Yeah." Sango picked up easily. "It's a special game."

"The best ever." Kagome supplemented eagerly.

"A quiet game."

"Awww. That's not a game!" Rin called them on it cold, a shrewd look in her little brown eyes. "That's just what grown ups say when they want you to be quiet."

Everyone was stunned into silence, except Inuyasha who snorted in amusement, but quickly stamped it down as Sesshoumaru's hand twitched. He was the closest after all, should the uptight young man decide to lash out that was.

"Ok." Kagome conceded finally. She sent a sly grin at the bristling object of her current night time fantasies. "We can sing… Kag-"

"Don't . you . Dare." Sesshoumaru's voice was firm and unwavering and seemed to hold the unspoken 'or else' like an axe ready to drop.

Kagome's brow rose at the challenge.

"Eh – hehehe – how about we color?" Sango jumped in quickly, before Kagome decided to test her boundaries right then and there.

There were only two ways things like that ended: in a knock down drag out scream fest…or in bed.

Neither option was suitable for the PG rating on Rin's eyes and ears – and she wasn't interested herself.

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"Ahhhh!" Kagome stretched loudly as she stepped out of the car in front of the studio. "It's good to be out of that car!"

"It's good to be home." Sango cajoled happily, even going so far as to give Miroku a return squeeze when he rushed over and spun her in his arms with complaints that he had missed her and that Kouga had drooled on him in his sleep.

It didn't take long for everyone to trickle off, Sesshoumaru had issued a general good evening to the group before striding off through the studio compound toward his car, sleeping Rin in his arms. Her caffeine high took a nosedive about thirty minutes outside of Tokyo and she crashed mid sentence, falling over into a dead sleep.

Kagome had been so startled that she'd checked the child's breathing. It just wasn't normal to pass out asleep like that. Then again, the girl had used up enough energy in the few hours ride to power a city block for a year.

Of course Sesshoumaru hadn't spared two words for her the entire trip. Whether that was because he was so engrossed in his work, or because he was miffed at her from earlier she didn't know.

Or, she supposed, it could be that he was feeling awkward about the night before. _That_ thought made her grin. The great, immovable Sesshoumaru Takashima rendered speechless by a little tongue action.

Whoa! Stop that train right there little missy, she scolded as a flush crept up her cheeks. Since when was she such a pervert? This was all Miroku's fault for sure; Sango was right, he really was contagious!

Bags piled neatly at her side, Kagome waited for Sango to reappear so they could do their girls night out thing.

And waited.

…

…and waited.

Finally Sango's modest blue compact pulled out of the studio gates and stopped next to her.

"Hey Kagome, I'm really sorry for this, but can we post - pone our girls night for another time?"

"Sure. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I think so." Sango sighed, but she sounded worried. "My brother just called all upset. I think his girlfriend may have cheated on him or something, but he needs me tonight." Sigh. "I think he's the only one I'd even consider passing up Hiri – oto's oden for."

"That's fine. I understand completely. I really need to get unpacked anyway, and I'm sure my apartment has a two-inch layer of dust anyway. I'll see you tomorrow though, right?"

"You got it chicky baby!" Sango flashed a grin and asked if she needed a ride home before pulling off, but Kagome decided a taxi was the way to go. That way Sango could go ahead and get to her brother. She knew she'd want to get there in a hurry had their positions been reversed.

Unfortunately all the cabs seemed to be avoiding White Dog Studio's like the plague. She was just about to go inside and call when a car pulled out of the studio gates and stopped next to her.

At first, looking at the sleek black vehicle with the shiny mirror tinted windows, Kagome thought it was Sesshoumaru and approached the car with a big grin. The back window lowered slowly and Kagome still may have thought it was Sesshoumaru in the dark car sitting back in the deepening shadows of twilight until _he_ spoke.

"Do you need a ride, _miko?_"

Kagome recoiled as if she'd been bitten.

"N-no. Thank you, but I'm fine."

"Don't be foolish. It's too dangerous to be out here alone at night. Especially for one so _precious_ as you. We wouldn't want anything to happen."

"Really. I already called…"

Something loud, obnoxious, and incredibly fast zipped up between them so fast that Kagome's eyes began to water.

Yes, it was Inuyasha. On a motorcycle no less. She stumbled backwards in surprise, tripping over her suitcase and landing hard on the sidewalk with a pained squeak.

"Hey. Get outta here scum bag." Inuyasha ordered gruffly, kicking the side of the limo with his heavy black boot.

Naraku scowled, but rolled up his window and drove away with an angry screech of his tires.

"Need a lift?" Inuyasha asked with a lopsided grin.

Kagome felt herself smile, her body relaxing in relief as he leaned over to pull her up off the ground. "But what about my suitcase?"

"Aw, come on. You really need all that sh…"

"Yes. I do." She told him seriously. "These are all my worldly possessions. You can't expect me to just leave them behind."

He gaped like a fish. "Wha – I – sor –"

Kagome giggled. "Just kidding. But I don't want to just leave my stuff on the side walk."

"You're a brat, you know that?" He asked, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't offer unless you intend to deliver." He smirked with a toss of his braid.

Kagome blushed. "You've been spending too much time with Miroku too!"

"Keh. You wanna ride or not."

"Yeah. I guess I do."

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Kagome had never ridden on a motorcycle before, suffice to say it would have been more enjoyable if she hadn't been clinging to Inuyasha for dear life with one hand while precariously trying to balance her suitcase behind her with the other.

You'd think he'd have at least taken it a _little_ easy with her on the back.

"Here we are." Kagome said in a singsong voice when the key clicked in the lock and the door swung open. "Home sweet home."

"Keh. You actually live in this crap hole?"

Kagome sighed. Such a charmer, this one. "Yes Inuyasha, dear. Besides, I happen to like my crap hole, thanks very much."

He snorted amusedly, but quickly sobered when she shot him a quelling glare, holding his hands up to mollify her.

"Not all of us had the luxury of outrageously rich father growing up." She said absently as fond eyes swept over the second hand furnishings. They were exactly as she remembered them: ragtag and worn, but hers all the same.

"Or a father period." She added wistfully, a touch of bitterness lacing her words as she swept into the kitchen and pulled the kettle from the cabinet, rinsed it and set it on the stove to make tea.

"What, your dad die or something?" He asked the question so tactlessly that Kagome laughed.

"If we were only so lucky."

"Ouch." He picked up the lid on the cookie jar, completely unfettered by the fact that he hadn't asked nor been invited. Usually it would have irritated Kagome, but Inuyasha was just that way. "So what happened?" he asked pulling out a wrapped oatmeal pie cookie that had to be at least six months old or more.

Kagome grinned when he opened it with out a second though, but decided not to mention it. He made an odd face at the first bite, but just shrugged and shoved the rest of the thing in his mouth in one bite.

"Tea bags ok? I'm all out of leaves."

"Like I care." Though it was much more muffled and messy since his mouth was still stuffed with partially chewed cookie, some of which dribbled onto his chin.

Kagome tossed him a napkin with a good-natured roll of her eyes. Dealing with Inuyasha wasn't that much different that dealing with Rin after all, only he wouldn't need help going to the potty.

Hopefully.

"So…you're dad." The dark haired young man prompted when he finally managed to swallow the gummy cookie.

"He left. I was young, maybe five or almost. Mom was pregnant with Sota, my younger brother and he just decided he didn't want to do the 'family thing' anymore and took off. Haven't heard from him since."

"Bastard." Inuyasha grunted, gratefully accepting the mug she passed him.

Kagome grinned and took a cautious sip of her tea. Ah, it was good to be home, no matter how humble. "You've got that right. Wasn't long after that Mom got sick."

"Sick?"

"Yeah. Cancer. She's in remission now thankfully, but we racked up a fortune in medical bills." She smiled then, amazing him that she could look so happy in the midst of such a sad tale. "But we have so much to be thankful for. She's much better now and with the money I'll make from the film I can pay off her bills so she wont have to worry so much and gramps can finally retire." She grinned wickedly. "Maybe I'll by him a moped."

Inuyasha studied her thoughtfully, raising his cup to his lips for the first time.

"Bleh!" he shivered repulsed as he forced the tea down his throat. "What the hell kind of girlie crap is this?"

Kagome giggled innocently. "What? You don't like my raspberry zinger?"

"Keh. You got any real tea?"

"Nope." Kagome grinned unrepentantly as he scowled and slung back the rest of the tea.

"Uuuahhh. That is some nasty stuff." He grinned. "You should make some for Sess. Tomorrow morning, in place of his coffee."

Kagome laughed light heartedly, laughing harder at the face he made when she refilled his cup.

"So what's going on between you and the giant talking ass?"

"Excuse me?" Kagome sputtered, nearly choking on her tea. Inuyasha grinned wickedly.

"Sesshoumaru. You know any other giant talkin-"

"Ah – no…I mean nothing." She spluttered going red. "I mean…I don't really know. He's so hard to read sometimes." She sighed and slumped down to rest her chin on the wiggly old table that separated them. "And he's not an…he's just very…Sesshoumaru."

"Keh."

Kagome giggled lazily, turning her cup in circles on the scrubbed surface. "I just don't know what he's thinking. One minute he's kissing me, then he just about ignores Naraku's man handling, but then he's all – uhm," she cleared her throat, "with the tongue and all…"

"Shit Kagome! I do not want to hear about that!" He spluttered, turning fairly red himself.

Kagome let an embarrassed giggle slip from her throat. "Sorry. But then he just sort of walks away … and he didn't talk to me today at all." She sighed. "It's just stupid, the whole thing; the flirting, going out to dinner. Dating in general is stupid."

"Amen." Inuyasha seconded lifting his mug in the air. "Straight to the sex. That's the better way. Ow!"

The balled up paper napkin didn't hurt when it bounced off his head, but he'd made her laugh – which was what he was aiming for anyway. Without thinking he downed the contents of his mug, making an awful face as it raced over his palate.

Kagome laughed again. "If you hate it so much why are you still drinking it?"

"You got anything else?" It was less of a question and more of a challenge.

"Well, no actually."

He gave a smug sort of look before taking another grimacing swig of tea. "Hey," he began seriously, "has Naraku been bothering you much, like tonight?"

"He…he's just strange. It kind of creeps me out, but he hasn't done anything." _Except bruise the hell out of her side._ "Not really anyway."

"You tell me if he tries anything." He looked into her eyes gravely. "I mean it. If he so much as looks at you funny I want to know."

Kagome smiled warmly at him, making him turn away with a bit of a flush rising on his cheeks. "I will." She grinned. "More tea?"

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Well, up to par? let me know. I've got chapter 13 ready for editing so I'll get it out before I leave for vacation. Thanks for taking the time, hope you've enjoyed. U.C.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

The Final Bow 

By; Undecidedlycertain

Chapter 13 

The first time Kagome Higurashi saw the set she was led on blind folded in full costume. When the blindfold was removed, the lights were down and it was nearly pitch black.

"Wha – why is it so dark?" she groped blindly for Inuyasha, who seemed to have a penchant for seeing well in the dark. "Inuyasha, what's going on?"

"It's a surprise."

"Have I ever told you that I'm not really fond of surprises like this?" she asked nervously. She never had been fond of the dark. Fear of the unknown – or at least that's what they said in psych.

Inuyasha's only reply was a dark chuckle before Sesshoumaru's soothing baritone filled her ears.

"The air is crisp, autumn is blowing in rapidly and the smell of baked summer grasses is giving way to harvest. Do you feel it, can you smell it fair miko?"

Kagome closed her eyes and breathed deeply, starting at the flash of black and white and the sudden smell of sun warmed pine needles that assaulted her senses.

It was gone as soon as it appeared, but it shook her nonetheless.

"Are you ready?" Sesshoumaru asked quietly.

Kagome swallowed at a thick knot in her throat that refused to go down and nodded. She was as ready as she was going to get at any rate.

The flurry of motion was instantaneous and breathtaking.

"LIGHTS, CAMERA…"

Kagome found herself suddenly blinded by warm filtered yellow light, and standing in a forest of beautiful trees just starting to turn their leaves. A crude but well built hut stood directly before her and a soft wind ruffled her hair and billowy robes.

For a moment she thought that she'd been sucked into another vision.

"Action."

And the world breathed again while Kagome Higurashi was suddenly stuck with the worst case of stage fright imaginable.

"Action." Sesshoumaru repeated, more insistently, and the wheels started turning for Kagome once more as she strode forward into the forest of trees and into the scene.

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"You did a good job Kagome." Sango assured her nervous friend.

"But we didn't even get through the first scene."

"That's normal. I promise. This is an important scene so we have to do it over and over again to get all the angles and make sure its perfect. It costs way too much to come back and try to re shoot later."

"Really."

"Yes, really." Sango laughed.

"You're sure its not because I sucked?"

"Completely sure, but you should try to relax out there. Just remember that Naraku Himura isn't Naraku Himura when you're on set and you wont feel so nervous."

"Was it that obvious?" Kagome sighed, pulling a brush through her long hair before sweeping it into a messy knot at the back of her head.

"Well…a little. It's your eyes. They're so expressive."

"I just can't help it Sango. The guy seriously creeps me out."

Sango gave a dark chuckle. "Yeah, there's definitely something off about him. Even more than usual. I don't know what his problem is."

"I'll do better tomorrow. I promise." Kagome assured her, scooping up her bag.

"Kag-girl, I told you. Don't sweat it. Sesshoumaru would have told you if you performance was anything but stellar. You know how he is."

"Yeah. I guess. Oh shoot." She patted her pockets and dug through her bag when the reached the door leading out of studio G.

"What's wrong?" Sango intoned, looking back as she made her way out the door.

"I think I left my cell phone in the dressing room. I'll see you in the morning."

"Want me to wait?"

"Nah. I'll be fine."

"Ok." Sango hesitated. "If you're sure."

"Yeah, it'll just take a sec anyway. I am so looking forward to a nice, long bubble bath.

"Sure, just be careful."

"Yes mama."

"You got that right."

"Does that make me your daddy?" she heard Miroku pipe up as she turned back, laughing and waiving them on. She could hear the two in playful banter as she made her way down the dark hall toward her dressing room.

In a hurry, and not wanting to bother with any more work than she had to, Kagome simply shuffled into the small dressing room she shared with Sango and Ayame and groped blindly around on the long vanity. It was dark, but the emergency runner lights, the ones that were always on, gave her at least enough light to keep her bearings.

"hmph." She huffed impatiently when it seemed her hand came across everything but the one thing she needed.

"Looking for this?"

The pale green-tinged light from the screen on her flip phone flared to life as the lid was popped open. She could see the reflection in the mirror before her, the phone and the hand that held it, but she didn't have to see his face to know who it was.

She knew that voice anywhere.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered hoarsely, spinning slowly to face the disembodied voice floating from above the glow of her cell phone.

"Only helping a friend in need." She could practically feel him smirking at her in the darkness. "You are in need, aren't you?"

Kagome said nothing, but began sliding along the vanity toward the hall.

"Isn't it luck for you that I was around …to take care of you, miko."

The pale green glow from her phone suddenly went out.

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The set was bathed in darkness, but as a director, an artist, he felt the need to get a real feel for it in the peace that solitude brings.

_Gonna get your body movin, Gonna get your body movin, Gonna get your body movin…move on me I'll move on you_

"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru growled darkly at the completely in appropriate ring tone that had been set to his phone. He'd have to remember not to leave it lying around anymore. The riffraff in this place had no sense of propriety.

"Takashima." He answered sharply, then in a more subdued tone. "Hello Izaoi-San."

_"Sesshoumaru dear, I was hoping that Rin could stay over tonight. We're having spaghetti and you know how the little darling adores it. I was going to take her to the zoo in the morning as well. Unless of course you have other plans."_

"No that's fine, she can stay if she wants to."

_"Oh wonderful. I'll bring her by the studio tomorrow afternoon, around four or so."_

"That is acceptable."

_"Oh! Here she is," Izaoi's voice preened over the phone, "she wants to talk to you dear…"_

_"Papa Sessh-ooo-maruuu!"_ Rin's voice burbled excitedly and so loudly that he had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"Riiiinnn-chan." He called back to her in a greeting only used because no one else was around to hear it.

_"Oba-san is making skeddies!"_

"So I heard."

_"Rin is going to eat them one at a time!"_

"Are you now?"

The girl crowed proudly._ "Yup! And I'm going to count them and see how many I can eat! I'm gonna eat a hundred-zilli-ton!"_

"That's a lot."

_"Yeah, but Rin is very hungry. We played on the swing set all day!"_

"You be good for oba-san and jii-san."

_"I will."_ There was a pause, but Sesshoumaru could tell the girl was still on the phone by the way she was breathing obnoxiously into the mouthpiece. _"Papa Sess…"_

"Yes?"

"_will you sing Rin the good night moon song."_

"Right now?" he groaned imperceptibly. At least he was alone.

"_Please."_

Darn. He cleared his throat awkwardly and began. "Goodnight moon…goodnight stars…"

A blood-curdling scream echoed from the hallway just beyond the set. Someone would have to have been screaming pretty loud for it to carry through the steel door like that.

"I have to go Rin. Tell Izaoyi-san that I will call back later."

_"ok, Bye…"_

Sesshoumaru snapped the phone shut before she finished and sprinted off down the hall.

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He was stronger than her, but that didn't mean she was going to go down with out a fight.

Kagome kicked out hard, catching him solidly in the lower thigh. He didn't budge. In fact he laughed, and that gruesome foreboding sound sent a panic rushing through her. She couldn't fight him. She just wasn't strong enough and everyone else was gone for the day.

He jerked her around by the wrists deftly, as if she weighed nothing at all – as if he'd done this all before.

She let out a keening wail and struggled in vain. He was just too strong.

Her back hit the vanity hard, bottles scattered to the floor breaking on the tiles, shards of broken glass and plastic bottles and containers skittering across the room. Her head hit the mirror with a sickening crack as the reflective glass spider webbed around her like a broken halo.

He smiled in that frightening way of his, enjoying her fright, reveling in her pain.

"You look so beautiful like this my precious miko." He leaned forward dragging his tongue along her neck from collarbone to ear. Kagome struggled even harder. He laughed. "I can smell it you know." He whispered low and husky in her ear. "I can taste it on your skin." He bit her hard on the shoulder, not enough to break the skin, but enough to bruise for sure. She cried out in pain. "I know you have it."

"You're sick!" She spat in a trembling voice. "I don't have anything."

He chuckled darkly. "Oh, but don't you?" His hand fisted roughly in the front of her shirt, tearing it open with a swift flick of his wrist.

Tiny black buttons flew through the air with an exaggerated slowness. Kagome watched as the last one dropped, spinning once, twice, before collapsing on its side next to her feet. Everything was cast eerily in shades of green by the emergency lighting running down the hallway just outside the open door.

His hand roughly closed over her breast, squeezing painfully, drawing another startled cry from her. She was shaking now. She knew. He was going to rape her.

"That's it, cry for me. You know how I love to see you cry." His voice was low and crooning. Kagome felt frozen with fear, riddled with disgust. It was wrong. She didn't want this, didn't want him.

He leaned forward, so close that his breath howled in her ear. "You are afraid." He sneered mockingly, "Afraid he won't want you after I've touched you." He paused, his eyes nearly rolling up in his head at the way her pulse thrummed like a hummingbirds wind under his hands, then he whispered slowly, savoring the music of it, "He betrayed you then, what makes you think it will be different this time? You will _always_ belong to me." He hissed vehemently.

Then he used his tongue to trace the track of her tears along the side of her face. Her vision blurred, then went gray.

_The dressing room was suddenly replaced with a serene forest_ _varying shades of gray, the smooth glass of the mirror gone from behind her – instead the roughly hewn planks of her small home pressed roughly against her back. A hand was wrapped tightly around her throat as a man in ornate samurai armor pressed himself against him. _

_Not a man._

_He was Youkai, and yet he was not. And he was certainly not samurai. There was no honor in this man. He bit at her skin and tore at her clothes with his free hand, taking what he thought would hurt her the most since he could not claim his true prize. _

_He pulled back to smirk at her, Naraku for sure, but his eyes were different. They were red._

She was suddenly thrust back into reality, but a heavy bout of vertigo enveloped her so hard that she felt she might be sick. Maybe because she had tried to force her self from the vision, it didn't matter. She had to get loose. She couldn't just allow this to happen with out a fight.

Thinking quickly, she slammed her forehead into his nose when he leaned back to say something to her, catching him off guard. He reared back angrily as blood spurted down his face, his features contorting angrily.

Kagome realized a bit too late that this might not have been such a good idea. Her head was swimming, pain engulfing her and adding to her nausea. Also, Naraku was pissed.

Having no time to lose, she pushed herself off the counter to make a dash for the door. Unfortunately he was faster.

_The forest floor was hard, even with the blanket of leaves that covered everything. He was on top of her before her breath returned to her, a strange sutra slapped to her forehead. Burning nausea tore at the back of her throat. She couldn't move, couldn't breath…_

_Couldn't purify him._

"_I-itea." She groaned breathily._

"_It hurts doesn't it, my beautiful miko." He whispered huskily as he lowered himself over her, tearing at her clothes once more._

_She whimpered._

_He laughed._

"Don't do this. Please – please don't do this." Kagome cried out desperately as he pushed himself between her knees, holding her wrists tightly up over her head.

The concrete floor was cold, her shirt hung limply open as he reached between them to push her long gauzy skirt up over her hips.

"Please – Naraku. You need help. Just stop this now and I swear-"

"What do you swear?" He snarled angrily in her face. His first two fingers running back and forth just under the elastic of her panties.

"We can get you help. I promise, just don't do this."

He laughed.

_Her head fell to the side in defeat. Dry leaves scratched at her face, hopelessness flooded her. He was going to hurt her. Rape her – possibly kill her, and all she could think about was how he would never want her now. How she'd never again be able to look into the blazing inferno of his eyes with out the look of disgust on his face. _

_She wanted to simply fade away. To be swallowed unto the earth._

_The wind stirred the leaves before her…no! Not the wind!_

_Sesshoumaru dropped from the sky, the halo of the sun behind him making him seem to glow. He landed with such grace, such a feather light touch that one would think he did not weigh an ounce. _

A deep, angry growl filled the air. 

The rumbling was so loud that it nearly rattled the walls. Kagome felt sick. His weight against her as he reveled in grinding his hips against hers, bathing himself in her fear as he showed her just what he was going to do to her.

_Angry gold eyes flashed crimson, just for a moment, before Naraku's vile weight was suddenly gone from her…_

Kagome's mind blanked as his hand reached once again for her panties, but then he was gone and the rumbling seemed to deepen.

A sharp vicious bark had her moving faster than she thought possible in the current situation, wondering where the dog had come from, but grateful just the same. She bolted staggeringly for the door when he spoke, stopping her in her tracks.

He was laughing. Naraku, that sick psychopath was laughing. "Sesshoumaru." He intoned, "You couldn't stop me then. You wont now. The tama will be mine, her keeper will be mine, and I.Will. Destroy. You."

Sesshoumaru? He was there. Making a split second decision she flailed flagrantly along the wall for the switch and throwing it as soon as her hands found it.

It was Sesshoumaru. And it was not just normal Sesshoumaru either, it was full facial tattoo Sesshoumaru holding Naraku up by the throat in one hand looking angrier than she'd ever seen him. His large fingers flexed around the smirking dark haired man's neck, squeezing tighter.

"I will kill you for this." He snarled raggedly as though trying to contain something.

Naraku laughed.

Sesshoumaru squeezed harder.

In fact, if it weren't for the small hands that tentatively touched his shoulder, he probably would have killed then and there.

"I've called the police." She said quietly, meeting his eyes beseechingly. "Please don't get into trouble because of me."

Sesshoumaru studied her intensely for a moment before jerking a nod. He then slammed Naraku hard into the floor, hard enough to make Kagome shriek in surprise, hard enough for a sickening crack to ring through the destroyed room.

"Oh my god!" Kagome said woozily. "Is he…"

"He won't be getting up from that for a while." Sesshoumaru said coldly turning to her and gently ushering her out of the room. Once in the hall he turned and locked the door with the master key from his pocket. That should hold him until the police arrived.

Kagome sagged against the wall as the adrenalin left her, leaving her empty and shaking. She held her shirt together with one hand while the other clenched in a fist just under her chin.

He caught her before she could sink completely to the floor.

"Are you alright, Kagome?"

She nodded numbly, then shook her head as her chin began to quiver. Before she knew what was going on she was sobbing great, gut wrenching sobs into his shoulder and clinging to him for dear life.

"It's ok." He whispered into her hair soothingly. "He'll never touch you again. I swear it."

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AN: Better late than never, ey?


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